OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 


THE 


PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


[DAS  HAIDEPRINZESSCHEN.] 


BY  E.  MARLITT, 

Author  of  "Countess  Gisela,"  "In  the  Counselor's  House,"  "In  the 

Schilling  scourt,"  "Gold  Elsie,"  "Lady  with  the  Rubies" 

"Old  Mam'seUe's  Secret,"  "The  Second  Wife,"  etc. 


EDITION. 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS, 
52-58  DUANE  STREET,  XEW  YORK. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


i. 

THE  tiny  stream  as  it  flows  through  the  silent  moor— 
how  like  is  it  to  a  solitary  traveler!  Its  rippling  wavei 
know  nothing  of  the  fierce  joy  with  which  more  stormy 
waters  rush  toward  a  valley,  but  dance  gayly  over  the 
smooth  stones  and  pebbles,  which  offer  no  resistance,  be- 
tween low  banks  of  never-ending  alder  trees  and  willows. 
On  either  side  the  boughs  have  met  and  intertwined,  till 
even  the  sky  above  can  scarcely  penetrate  and  discover 
this  little  stream,  which  like  a  vein  courses  with  exuberant; 
life  throughout  this  despised  country.  Even  so,  on  a 
larger  scale,  has  many  a  false  tongue  misrepresented  in 
the  world  at  large  these  extensive  plains  of  Northern 
Germany. 

Friends,  be  persuaded  just  for  once  to  pay  a  summer 
visit  to  the  haide.* 

It  does  not  indeed  rear  its  tall  form  toward  the  sky;  the 
glowing  diadem  of  the  Alps  or  a  crown  of  rhododendrons 
you  will  seek  in  vain ;  no  crest  of  stone,  as  in  the  Nieder- 
gebirges,  or  broad  sparkling  stream  circling  her  bosom 
like  a  cold  steel  chain  will  you  find  there;  but  the  heather 
blooms,  and  with  its  bell-shaped  blossoms  of  lilac  and  red 
casts  a  royal  mantle  of  brilliant  hues  studded  with  myriads 
of  golden  bees  over  the  soft  undulations  of  the  land. 

Far  in  the  distance  extends  the  sandy  plain  from  which 
the  haide  vegetation  draws  the  scanty  nourishment  it  re- 
quires; and  the  long  dark  line  standing  out  against  the 
horizon,  in  which  the  plain  suddenly  terminates,  is  a 
forest,  a  dense  majestic  mass  of  foliage  such  as  you  will 
rarely  see  equaled.  A  traveler  might  pass  whole  hours  vvan- 

*Moor. 

2131249 


2  THE  PRINCES8  OF  THE  MOOR. 

dering  amid  these  stately  columns  which  rear  their  heads 
to  heaven;  far  above,  in  the  blue  ether,  larks  and  thrushes 
tune  their  merry  lay,while  the  timid  deer  gaze  shyly  from 
the  neighboring  thicket;  and  when  the  wanderer  at  last 
should  reach  the  boundaries  of  the  forest  and  emerge  into 
the  tamer  groves  of  fir,  his  foot  would  linger,  all  reluctant 
to  crush  beneath  it  the  wild  berries  thickly  strewn  on 
every  side  and  adorning  the  sloping  ground  with  rich 
hues  of  blue,  black,  and  scarlet.  In  the  valley  opposite 
soft  green  meadows  and  golden  corn-fields  would  meet 
his  view;  he  would  see  the  little  village  nestling  in  the 
midst,  its  old-fashioned  dwellings  clustered  around  the 
tiled  church-tower;  and  when  he  listened  to  the  sounds 
of  life  and  activity  and  heard  the  lowing  of  the  splendid 
cattle  echoing  through  the  air,  the  recollection  of  the 
"bleak,  God-forgotten  waste  of  sand  [desert]"  described 
by  the  guide-books  would  doubtless  bring  a  smile  to  his 
lips. 

I  do  not  mean  to  deny  that  the  little  stream  with 
whose  description  my  story  commences  winds  its  quiet 
way  for  many  a  mile  through  barren  desert  soil,  running 
parallel  indeed  with  the  forest  boundary,  but  long  before 
it  takes  a  turn  in  its  direction.  Throughout  its  gentle 
course,  however,  it  washes  the  soft  banks  away,  and  in 
one  spot  has  succeeded  in  forming  a  miniature  lake 
wherein  to  rest  and  in  whose  clear  waters  it  is  hard  to 
tell  where  the  sky  and  that  which  mirrors  it  begin  and 
end,  so  transparent  are  its  depths,  so  white  the  pebbles, 
and  so  motionless  lie  the  foxtails  yonder.  The  little  circle 
has  forced  asunder  the  alders,  and  a  birch  struggling  to 
the  light  has  made  a  step  forward  and  stands  like  an 
innocent  legendary  child  from  whose  locks  the  summer  air 
keeps  incessantly  showering  down  silver  coins. 

It  was  the  latter  end  of  June. 

In  the  very  center  of  this  basin  stood  two  bare,  brown 
feet,  belonging  to  a  maiden  who  was  carefully  holding  up 
her  black  woolen  petticoat  with  two  brown  hands  to 
match  the  feet,  while  she  stood  bending  forward  with  a 
look  of  eager  curiosity.  Small,  a  white  kerchief  covering 
her  shoulders,  and  a  young  sunburnt  face— the  reflection 
the  water  threw  up  was  minute  and  insignificant  enough. 
Utterly  indifferent,  however,  was  it  to  the  eyes  gazing  so 
earnestly  downward  as  to  whether  the  owner's  face  be- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TSJS  MOOR.  3 

longed  to  the  Grecian  or  Teutonic  type.  Here,  in  the 
loneliest  quarter  of  the  moor,  no  standard  of  female 
beauty  existed  and  no  comparisons  were  instituted;  but 
the  great  charm  of  the  water-mirror  lay  in  the  fact  that 
on  its  pure  surface  all  things,  howeve^  common,  under- 
went a  metamorphosis,  a  fairy  transformation.  In  the 
upper  world  the  soft  haide  wind  was  playing  merrily  amid 
the  girl's  short  locks  and  blowing  them  about  her  neck 
and  forehead;  but  here  below,  in  those  cool  depths,  they 
assumed  the  aspect  of  raven's  wings,  the  little  necklace  of 
red  beads  looking  like  dark  drops  of  blood,  while  the 
coarse  white  handkerchief  was  transformed  into  a  silken 
texture  and  looked  just  like  r,  snow-white  water-lily  float- 
ing on  the  tiny  lake.  It  was  all  exactly  like  one  of  the 
loveliest  of  old-fashioned  fairy  tales. 

The  deep  blue  sky  formed  a  canopy  over  the  breach  in 
the  copse,  giving  a  cold  steel-like  hue  to  the  water  below 
and  a  background  to  the  girl's  reflection.  Suddenly  glow- 
ing shadows  began  to  steal  over  the  smooth  lake,  and  ex- 
traordinary as  it  seemed,  they  certainly  came  from  the 
hanging  locks  of  the  curly  head ;  they  chased  each  other 
hither  and  thither,  their  color  ever  deepening  in  intensity 
till  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  world  were  bathed  in  purple 
light.  The  deep  shadows  nestling  amid  the  brushwood 
alone  seemed  to  grow  black  as  midnight,  and  the  solitary 
twigs  which  projected  from  them  looked  like  black  stalac- 
tites reflected  in  a  sea  of  fire — another  turn  of  the  magi- 
cian's wand  in  our  fairy  tale.  But  this  caused  a  terrible 
shock.  The  girl's  own  shadow  assumed  as  she  bent  for- 
ward the  aspect  of  another,  which  from  the  depths  beneath 
looked  up  with  two  large  awful  eyes  at  her. 

The  brown  feet  belonged  to  no  heroine,  and  with  one 
wild  scream  she  sprang  up  the  bank.  "What  an  absurd 
fright!  The  evening  sky  was  one  sheet  of  crimson  and 
gold.  A  bright  fleecy  cloud  floating  over  the  lake  was 
the  cause  of  the  ghostly  apparition — and  the  eyes? — was 
such  a  coward  ever  before  seen,  such  a  baby  to  be  fright- 
ened at  one's  own  eyes? 

I  was  ashamed  even  of  myself,  but  still  more  at  the 
presence  of  my  two  best  friends,  who  had  been  silent 
spectators. 

My  pretty  heifer  was  not  much  disconcerted.  She  was 
the  least  intelligent  of  the  two — the  bonniest  black  cow 


4  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

that  had  ever  ranged  the  haide  plains.  There  she  stood 
browsing  beneath  the  birch  trees  and  luxuriating  in  a 
little  patch  of  juicv  grass  which  the  moisture  of  the  river 
banks  had  sweetened.  She  raised  her  small  pretty  head, 
gazed  at  me  for  a  moment  in  mute  surprise,  and  then 
returned  to  her  occupation  with  un  mistakable  relish. 

Spitz,  on  the  contrary,  who  had  settled  himself  for  a 
doze  under  the  bushes,  took  the  matter  seriously.  He 
gave  a  wild  bound  into  the  air,  and  attacking  the  unof- 
fending water,  barked  furiously,  as  though  some  frightful 
enemy  were  at  my  heels. 

It  was  too  ridiculous,  and  laughing  heartily  I  jumped 
back  into  the  water  and  seconded  his  efforts  by  shivering 
the  deceitful  mirror  to  a  thousand  atoms.  There  was, 
however,  a  third  witness  to  this  affair,  whom  neither 
Spitz  nor  I  had  remarked. 

"What  is  my  little  princess  doing  here?"  he  inquired 
in  that  kind  of  muffled,  indistinct  tone  of  voice  indicative 
of  inseparable  companionship  with  a  pipe  in  the  speaker's 
mouth. 

"Oh,  it's  you,  Heinz." 

I  am  not  ashamed  of  him,  because  he  is  well  known  to 
be  afraid  of  his  own  shadow,  difficult  as  it  is  to  credit  the 
fact  when  looking  at  his  stalwart  form. 

There  he  stood,  Heinz  the  bee-keeper,  shod  in  such  gear 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  earth  might  sink  beneath  his 
tread,  his  tall  form  towering  toward  the  sky,  while  its 
breadth  formed  a  barrier  like  a  granite  wall  between  me 
and  the  view  across  the  haide. 

Yet  at  the  first  white  object  that  meets  him  in  the 
dusky  twilight  this  giant  will  take  to  his  heels,  and  his 
cowardice  supplies  me  with  endless  amusement.  I  tell 
him  long  stones  of  horrors  till  I  grow  quite  frightened 
myself  and  am  afraid  of  every  dark  corner. 

"I  am  treading  down  a  pair  of  eyes,  Heinz,"  I  ex- 
claimed, giving  another  stamp,  so  that  the  water  splashed 
all  over  his  faded  old  coat.  "Look,  am  I  not  right?" 

"Not  at  all— not  in  daylight." 

"Nonsense!  What  difference  does  it  make  to  the 
water-sprite  whether  it  is  day  or  night  if  she  is  angry?" 
I  watched  the  half-nervous,  half-incredulous  glance  he 
cast  at  the  water  with  veritable  delight.  "Wliat!  you 
don't  believe  it,  Heinz?  I  only  wish  she  had  given  you 
inch  a  look,  so  dreadful." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  5 

This  fairy  conquered  him.  Taking  the  pipe  from  his 
month  and  pointing  it  playfully  at  me,  he  said,  with  a 
smile  of  mingled  triumph  and  distrust: 

"Didn't  I  always  tell  you  so,  eh?  But  I  won't  do  it 
again,  not  a  bit  of  me — heaps  of  the  things  may  lie  there, 
but  I  won't  touch  one  of  them,  not  I." 

So  here  I  had  raised  a  nice  piece  of  business  with  my 
'  love  of  jesting. 

The  little  stream,  the  tiny  traveler  which  wandered 
through  the  haide,  was  richer  far  than  many  a  proud  river 
which  flows  past  palaces  and  amid  the  busy  haunts  of  men. 
Pearls  lay  hidden  within  its  recesses,  few  indeed  in  quan- 
tity and  not  brilliant  enough  for  a  king's  diadem,  but 
what  did  I  know  of  all  that?  I  liked  the  small  round 
shining  things  which  lay  so  bright  and  pretty  in  the  palm 
of  my  hand.  Many  a  time  had  I  spent  whole  hours  wad- 
ing through  the  water  seeking  for  oysters,  and  then  I  had 
always  brought  them  to  Heinz,  who  understood  the  art  of 
opening  them — a  secret  he  would  confide  to  no  one  else. 
Now  he  was  going  to  renounce  the  service  utterly  and  con- 
clusively, because  he  was  firmly  convinced  that  the  water- 
sprite  would  take  the  law  of  us  as  thieves! 

"Get  away,  Heinz,'*  I  said  in  a  melancholy  tone.  "It 
was  only  a  stupid  joke;  don't  believe  such  nonsense." 
And  bending  over  the  water,  which  had  nearly  settled 
again,  I  said:  "Look  here  for  yourself.  What  is  looking 
at  you?  Nothing,  nothing  whatever  but  my  own  two 
dreadful  eyes.  Why  are  they  so  unnaturally  large,  Heinz? 
Neither  Fraulein  Streit's  eyes  nor  yet  Use's  would  have 
looked  half  so  terrible." 

"No,  Use's  eyes  wouldn't  either,"  replied  Heinz,  "but 
her  eyes  are  sharp,  princess,  very  sharp." 

On  his  first  joining  me  he  had  laid  his  huge  hand  upon 
my  shoulder  quite  good-naturedly  (for  Heinz  could  not  be 
angry),  but  after  giving  utterance  to  the  above  sage  re- 
mark he  ran  it  through  his  wisp  of  hair,  which  stood  up 
like  thin  yellow  stubble  about  his  temples.  It  absolutely 
bristled  in  the  warm  evening  sunshine. 

After  that  he  blew  forth  a  cloud  of  tobacco-smoke, 
which  speedily  dispersed  a  swarm  of  midges  playing  round. 
At  home,  Use  "of  the  sharp  eyes"  always  maintained  that 
tobacco  was  a  disgusting  weed.  I  alone  endured  it,  and 
should  I  live  to  be  a  hundred,  the  evil-reputed  smell  will 


6  THE  PRINCE8S  OF  THE  MOOR. 

always  send  me  back  in  memory  to  the  warm  nook  in  the 
chimney  corner,  where,  curled  up  on  the  wooden  bench 
by  Heinz'  side,  I  enjoyed  the  delicious  sense  of  his  pro- 
tecting care,  while  without  the  snow-storm  raged  over  the 
plains  and  hail  came  pelting  like  stones  hurled  against  the 
window-panes. 

Just  as  Mieke  came  up  to  pluck  the  blades  of  grass 
which  Heinz  had  trodden  under  foot  I  sprang  up  the 
bank. 

"Ei,"  said  he,  laughing,  "how  grand  she  looks!" 

"Oh,  no  laughing  at  that,  if  you  please,"  I  replied  in  a 
dignified  manner. 

Mieke  was  indeed  splendidly  adorned.  Between  her 
horns  hung  a  garland  of  birch  leaves  and  marigolds,  which 
became  her  as  though  she  had  been  born  with  it;  a  chain 
made  of  the  thick  hollow  stalks  of  the  dandelion  hung 
round  her  neck,  and  to  the  very  end  of  her  tail  was  at- 
tached a  bouquet  of  the  haide  flowers,  which  looked  so 
comical  when  Mieke  lashed  it  about  to  brush  off  the  gnats. 

"She  has  quite  a  festive  air,  hasn't  she?"  said  I;  "but 
you  don't  know  the  reason!  Now,  just  think  a  moment, 
Heinz,  and  try  to  guess.  Mieke  is  dressed  up  and  a  cake 
is  baking  at  the  Dierkhof,  so  now  what  is  it  all  about?" 

But  I  had  just  hit  on  Heinz'  weak  point;  guessing  was 
not  his  forte,  and  he  stood  before  me  as  helpless  as  a  child 
of  two  years  old. 

"Ah,  you  cunning  fellow,"  I  continued,  laughing,  "you 
only  want  to  escape  congratulating  me;  but  that  won't 
succeed.  Dear  old  Heinz,  this  is  my  birthday." 

An  expression  of  joy  and  emotion  passed  over  the  broad, 
kind  face  at  this  discovery,  and  stretching  out  his  disen- 
gaged hand,  in  which  I  laid  mine  lovingly,  he  inauired : 

"And  how  old  is  my  little  princess?"  thus  avoiding  the 
expected  congratulations. 

I   laughed   and    said:    "You   don't    know    that    either. 
Well,  listen:  what  comes  after  sixteen?" 

"Sixteen — what — seventeen?  It  can't  be  true !  Such  a 
little  thing!  No,  it  can't  be  true,"  he  protested,  holding 
up  his  hands. 

This  incredulity  irritated  me;  but,  after  all,  my  old 
friend  was  not  far  astray.  He  who  had  all  his  life  long 
watched  how  the  pines  stretched  upward  to  heaven  had 
Been  me  for  the  last  three  years  get  no  higher  than  just 


THE  PEINCE8B  OF  THE  MOOR.  7 

to  where  I  could  hear  his  strong  heart  beat;  not  one  inch 
had  I  increased  all  that  time.  It  was  too  true,  I  was  and 
I  must  remain  all  my  days  a  mere  child  in  appearance, 
and  that,  according  to  Heinz'  opinion,  would  prevent  my 
ever  growing  older!  For  all  that  I  gave  him  a  good  scold- 
ing, but  this  time  he  warded  it  off,  in  quite  a  politic  man- 
ner changing  the  subject.  Instead  of  giving  me  any 
answer,  he  pointed  with  his  thumb  over  his  shoulder  and 
said: 

"There's  an  extra  birthday  celebration  going  on  up 
there,  princess — they  are  digging  up  the  old  king.'* 

At  one  bound  I  was  on  my  feet. 

The  crimson  glow  of  the  evening  sky  was  so  dazzlingly 
brilliant  that  I  was  forced  to  shade  my  eyes  with  my  hand. 
Yonder,  behind  the  line  of  the  forest,  the  rays  were,  as  it 
were,  playing  through  thin  mists  and  vapors,  while  nearer 
the  ancient  giants  of  the  past  formed  a  girdle  round  the 
wide-stretching  moor,  their  tall  spear-like  summits  stand- 
ing out  against  the  sky. 

The  heath  was  not  yet  in  blossom,  and  the  ground  pre- 
sented one  broad  sheet  of  green-brown  vegetation,  flat  as 
a  table  save  where  in  one  peculiar  spot  it  swelled  suddenly 
into  five  gigantic  mounds,  one  enormous  one  and  four 
smaller.  The  popular  tradition  was  that  these  mounds 
contained  the  remains  of  giants  who  in  the  days  of  their 
flesh  had  made  the  earth  quake  beneath  their  tread  and 
played  at  marbles  with  huge  blocks  of  stone.  Juniper 
trees  grew  on  the  top  of  the  highest  hill,  and  on  its  side 
the  golden  broom  blossomed.  Whether  some  human  hand 
had  planted  the  solitary  old  fir  tree  or  a  bird  carried  the 
seed  thither,  none  could  tell.  At  all  events,  there  it 
stood  sideways,  on  the  edge  of  the  hill,  thinly  clad,  tossed 
by  the  wild  wind  and  stunted  in  its  growth  by  the  weight 
of  winter  snows;  yet  standing  erect,  proud  and  defiant, 
the  one  solitary  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  vast  plain,  bat- 
tling for  its  existence  against  every  storm  that  blew. 

Many  a  time  I  had  said  to  Heinz  as  we  sat  on  the  hill 
together  in  my  childhood : 

"The  old  king  must  be  buried  here,  for  there  is  a  tree 
on  this  hill  and  yellow  blossoms,  and  there  are  none  on 
the  others." 

I  was  convinced  that  where  the  old  tree  stood  there  lay 
the  king's  powerful  head,  with  its  golden  band  round  the 


8  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

forehead  and  the  long,  long  white  beard  that  fell  over  the 
purple  mantle  covering  his  limbs.  This  buried  secret  was 
Hidden  in  the  deepest  solitude,  but  the  birds  that  came 
from  the  adjacent  wood  to  rest  amid  the  brushwood  and 
flutter  through  the  broom  and  heather,  the  blue  butterflies 
and  humming  bees — these  all  shared  it.  Many  a  time 
did  I  lie,  with  my  hands  under  my  head,  scarcely  daring 
jto  draw  breath,  watching  the  ants  as  they  ran  in  and  out 
/of  their  holes.  They  doubtless  were  wiser  than  we  were  and 
knew  all  about  it;  they  had  perhaps  run  over  the  purple 
mantle.  How  I  envied  them  and  longed  to  discover  those 
hidden  marvels. 

Up  to  this  moment  the  great  mound  had  been  my  gar- 
den, my  wood,  my  own  undisputed  property.  My  home, 
the  Dierkhof,  stood  quite  alone  upon  the  moor.  An 
infrequented  road,  which  connected  it  with  the  outer 
world,  lay  through  the  wood,  but  far  away  from  the  fairy 
hillocks — never,  that  I  could  remember,  had  a  stranger 
set  foot  within  their  kingdom — and  now  all  of  a  sudden 
yonder  stood  a  group  of  unknown  people  digging  up  huge 
clods  of  earth  from  these  self-same  mounds.  I  watched 
the  ax  as  it  swung  high  in  the  air,  and  so  often  as  it  fell 
with  unerring  aim  did  it  seem  to  me  as  though  it  hewed 
the  living  flesh  from  some  beloved  form. 

Without  pausing  to  reflect  I  ran  across  the  field,  filled 
with  sympathy  and  burning  with  curiosity  to  know  what 
would  come  to  light.  Spitz  ran  nimbly  beside  me,  and 
when  I  reached  the  spot,  breathless  with  my  exertions,  I 
found  Heinz  had  overtaken  me  with  a  few  gigantic  strides. 

Not  until  then  did  I  begin  to  feel  shy  and  to  experience 
that  childish  terror  which  the  sight  of  a  strange  face 
always  brings  over  me.  I  drew  back  and  caught  hold  of 
Heinz'  coat,  which  at  least  afforded  me  some  sense  of 
security  and  protection. 


II. 

THREE  gentlemen  were  standing  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
in  a  state  of  breathless  expectation,  while  several  work- 
men were  employed  digging  and  shoveling  away.  At  the 
uproar  Spitz  made  the  strangers  turned  round  and  looked 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  9 

at  us  for  a  moment.  The  youngest  of  the  party  lifted  his 
stick  and  shook  it  at  the  animal  on  his  attempting  to 
advance  nearer.  Then,  coldly  surveying  Heinz  and  me 
for  a  moment,  he  turned  his  back  on  us.  They  were  dig- 
ging near  the  old  pine.  The  broom  which  grew  round  it 
was  torn  up  and  lay  scattered  here  and  there,  while  the 
gap  which  they  had  left  exposed  to  view  the  great  thick 
roots  of  my  poor  fir  tree  amid  a  mingled  mass  of  yellow 
loam  and  sand:  their  white  flesh  was  visible;  the  ax  had 
hewed  into  them  remorselessly. 

"They  have  come  upon  the  stone,"  said  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen as  the  men's  axes  sounded  against  something 
sharply,  and  when  the  last  shovelful  of  earth  was  finally 
cleared  away  an  enormous  unhewn  block  of  stone  waa 
disclosed  to  view. 

The  gentlemen  moved  to  one  side  while  the  workmen 
prepared  to  roll  away  the  stone,  but  Heinz  moved  eagerly 
forward,  evidently  dissatisfied  with  the  manner  of  carry- 
ing on  the  work.  With  one  foot  in  advance  he  began 
swaying  his  great  hand  to  and  fro,  keeping  time  with  the 
workers,  and  his  pipe,  the  while,  had  no  holiday  of  it. 
Very  soon,  indeed,  I  could  only  distinguish  the  strangers 
through  a  blue  cloud.  If  only  Use  had  been  there  to 
witness  the  effect!  The  young  gentleman,  behind  whom 
Heinz  was  standing,  looked  round  as  if  he  had  received  a 
blow.  He  measured  the  unfortunate  smoker  with  a  long 
contemptuous  stare,  then  waved  his  silk  pocket  handker- 
chief with  an  air  of  disgust,  as  if  to  disperse  the  noisome 
vapor. 

Heinz  silently  took  the  corpus  delicti  out  of  his  mouth 
and  threw  it  aside.  He  was  struck  dumb,  for  his  pipe 
had  never  before  produced  such  an  impression.  The 
stranger's  conduct  had,  however,  frightened  and  intimi- 
dated me  to  the  last  degree.  I  was  quite  ashamed  and 
had  already  made  one  step  toward  retreating,  when  the 
stone  all  at  once  gave  way  and  rolled  a  few  steps  forward 
with  a  rumbling  sound.  That  chained  me  again  to  the 
spot. 

I  was  at  first  unable  to  see  anything,  because  the  gentle- 
men all  pressed  round  the  chasm,  but  suddenly  I  ceased  to 
wish  to  do  so  and  covered  my  eyes  with  my  hands,  fancy- 
ing some  tremendous  discovery  was  now  about  to  take 
place. 


10  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Potztausend!  was  that  it?"  cried  Heinz  in  a  voice  of 
undisguised  astonishment. 

I  took  one  glance,  and  for  a  moment  the  moor  with  its 
lights  and  shadows  had  disappeared,  the  shining  butter- 
flies seemed  to  have  folded  tneir  wings  and  sunk  to  rest, 
even  the  tall  spears  against  the  far-off  horizon — whither 
had  they  all  vanished?  The  setting  sun  alone  remained, 
and  beneath  the  hill  lay  no  gray-headed  king  with  flowing 
beard  and  gigantic  limbs  concealed  beneath  the  purple 
coverlet — nothing  but  a  deep  dark  abyss  yawned  at  my 
feet. 

To  the  strangers  this  seemed  to  be  the  natural  result. 
One  of  them,  who  wore  spectacles  and  had  a  large  tin  box 
slung  across  his  shoulders,  jumped  into  the  nole,  fol- 
lowed by  the  young  man;  while  the  third,  a  tall,  thin 
individual,  examined  the  inner  surface  of  the  block  of 
granite  just  dug  up. 

"This  stone  has  been  cut,"  he  remarked,  passing  his 
hand  lightly  over  the  surface. 

"And  so  have  the  others,"  called  a  voice  from  the 
chasm.  "Just  look  what  a  magnificent  stone  roof  we 
have  over  us — a  really  superb  block!" 

Just  then  the  young  man  reappeared  at  the  opening. 
He  had  to  stoop  so  low  that  his  hat  fell  off.  Up  to  that 
moment  I  had  seen  but  few  specimens  of  manhood ;  with 
the  exception  of  Heinz,  the  old  clergyman  of  the  nearest 
parish  (some  ten  miles  distant),  and  a  few  steady-going 
coarse-looking  farmers,  none,  save  an  occasional  dirty 
young  broom  maker,  had  ever  crossed  my  path.  But  a 
portrait  of  Charles  the  Great  hung  on  the  wall  at  the 
Dierkhof,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  it  as  I  looked 
at  the  uncovered  head  as  it  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the 
great  dark  cavern.  The  forehead  shone  like  a  broad  white 
spotless  shield  under  the  masses  of  auburn  hair,  which  he 
threw  back  with  an  energetic  toss  of  his  head. 

The  young  man  held  a  large  earthen  vessel  in  his  hand; 
it  was  of  a  grayish-yellowish  color. 

"Take  care,  Herr  Claudius,"  said  the  gentleman  in 
spectacles  in  a  warning  voice,  himself  carrying  several 
strange  utensils.  "These  urns  are  very  brittle  at  first, 
but  quickly  harden  in  the  air." 

It  never  reached  that  safety  point,  however,  for  just  as 
it  was  set  on  the  granite  block  it  broke.  A  cloud  of  ashes 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.] :  U 

rose,  and  human  bones,  nearly  burned  to  cinders,  were 
strewn  about. 

The  wearer  of  the  spectacles  set  up  a  loud  lament.  He 
seized  one  of  the  fragments,  and  pusning  up  his  spectacles 
began  examining  the  lump  of  clay  where  it  was  freshly 
broken  very  eagerly. 

"Bah!"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  "the  damage  is  not 
great,  professor.  At  least  six  similar  pieces  still  remain, 
and  they  are  all  as  like  one  another  as  two  peas." 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  replied  sharply,  "that  sounds  very  well 
— just  like  an  amateur." 

The  other  laughed  a  fascinating  laugh ;  it  had  a  light 
and  mocking  sound,  yet  did  one  good  to  hear.  He  seemed 
to  repent  it,  for  he  suddenly  became  grave. 

"I  am  indeed  but  an  amateur,'"  he  apologized,  "if  an 
enthusiastic  one,  and  you  must  therefore  substitute  mercy 
for  truth  when  the  novice,  forgetting  the  strong  curb  of 
science,  takes  the  bit  in  his  mouth  and  sets  off  in  a  wrong 
direction.  To  me  the  chief  interest  lay  in  discovering 
the  interior  structure  of  these  sepulchers,  and — ah,  how 
beautiful,"  he  exclaimed,  suddenly  interrupting  himself 
and  taking  up  one  of  the  rare  specimens  which  the  pro- 
fessor had  ranged  in  the  center  of  the  stone. 

The  learned  man  to  all  appearance  never  heard  the 
young  gentleman's  apology.  Buried  in  deep,  one  might 
almost  say  painful  thought,  he  was  occupied  in  the  exam- 
ination of  these  objects,  sometimes  holding  one  up  to  the 
light,  then  again  shading  it  with  his  hand. 

"Hum!"  muttered  he  to  himself;  "a  kind  of  silver 
filigree." 

"Silver  in  a  prehistoric  German  tomb,  professor?"  in- 
quired the  young  man  in  a  somewhat  mocking  tone. 
"Look  at  this  exquisite  piece  in  bronze!"  It  was  a  kind 
of  knife  or  dagger,  and  he  made  several  passes  with  it  in 
the  air  at  some  imaginary  foe,  then  balanced  it  playfully 
on  the  tips  of  his  fingers.  "Certes,  no  German  hand  ever 
used  this  elegant  article,"  he  remarked;  "it  would  have 
been  shattered  at  the  first  grasp.  And  just  as  little  did 
they  ever  produce  that  delicate  silver  ornament  you  have 
in  your  hand,  professor.  In  the  end,  it  will  turn  out  that 
Dr.  von  Sassen  is  right  when  he  maintains  that  these  so- 
called  Hun  graves  are  the  tombs  of  Phenician  pioneers." 

Dr.  von  Sassen!    How  the  name  went  through  me!    I 


12  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

even  thought  the  speaker  pointed  at  me  as  he  uttered  it, 
and  I  expected  all  eyes  would  be  turned  on  my  poor, 
frightened  little  person  directly.  How  I  longed  for  the 
earth  to  open  and  swallow  me  up!  But  it  was  all  non- 
sense. Nobody  gave  me  a  thought  and  I  began  to  breathe 
once  more,  when  oh,  misery,  I  had  never  once  thought  of 
him — of  Heinz,  and  there  he  stood,  the  slyboots,  looking 
knowingly  at  me  and  whispering  from  behind  his  hand, 
"Ah,  princess,  the  people  are  talking  about " 

"Be  quiet,  Heinz,"  I  desired,  and  actually  stamped  my 
foot  at  him  for  the  first  time  in  my  life. 

For  a  moment  he  looked  petrified,  then  shyly  turned 
his  face  the  other  way.  Meantime  the  attention  of  the 
others  had  been  attracted,  and  for  the  first  time  they 
seemed  to  notice  that  the  object  behind  them  was  neither 
a  stick  nor  a  stone,  but  a  timid  little  maiden.  They 
favored  me  with  a  fixed  stare  of  curiosity,  and  I  felt  but 
too  anxious  to  escape  from  the  whole  affair,  and  yet  some 
irresistible  attraction  held  me  spell-bound  to  the  spot. 
At  the  time  I  fancied  this  proceeded  solely  from  the  desire 
to  hear  more  of  the  owner  of  that  name.  The  fact  that 
Heinz'  remark  had  failed  to  reach  the  strangers'  ears  also 
helped  to  reassure  me. 

The  words  "Phenician  pioneers"  had  set  the  professor's 
soul  on  fire.  An  acknowledged  opponent  of  this  theory, 
he  defended  his  own  point  of  view  in  a  speech  of  passionate 
ardor,  to  which  the  young  gentleman  listened  with  dutiful 
attention.  The  individual  in  the  brown  hat  seemed,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  have  little  sympathy  with  the  learned 
disputations.  He  kept  pacing  up  and  down  quietly,  gazed 
long  and  thoughtfully  into  the  open  tomb,  and  ended  by 
climbing  the  hill  to  obtain  a  full  view  of  the  vast  plain. 

Meantime  the  glowing  sunset  paled  and  gradually  disap- 
peared in  violet  tints  below  the  horizon.  Nothing  save  a 
faint  streak  of  red  bordering  the  long  line  of  clouds  re- 
mained visible,  and  it  seemed  as  it  were  to  point  like  an 
outstretched  arm  toward  the  desecrated  resting-place. 
The  deceptive  glare  of  the  play  was  o'er,  and  once  again 
the  sky  wore  its  dark-blue  solemn  aspect.  The  crescent 
moon,  whose  tender  light  had  been  eclipsed  till  now  by 
the  universal  glow,  began  to  shine  and  deepen  gradually 
into  gold. 

The  gentleman  on  the  hill  drew  out  his  watch.    "It  ia 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  13 

time  to  break  up,"  he  called  aloud.  "It  will  be  a  full 
hour  before  we  can  reach  the  carriage." 

"Yes,  unele,"  replied  the  young  man,  "unfortunately 
a  very  long  hour.  I  wish  we  had  already  left  this  dreary 
waste  behind  us,"  and  he  glanced  at  his  elegantly  shod  feet. 
This  was  addressed  to  the  professor,  who  after  an  emphatic 
"Well,  we  shall  see"  had  brought  his  speech  abruptly  to  a 
conclusion.  "Must  we  really  return  by  the  same  wretched 
road?"  continued  the  young  man. 

"I  know  of  no  other,"  replied  the  philosopher  with  a 
shrug. 

The  young  gentleman  surveyed  the  landscape  gloomily 
and  repeated  with  ironical  pathos, 

"  '  How  tranquil  lies  the  moor 

Beneath  the  noonday's  burning  rays.' 

I  don't  understand  how  people  can  poetize  about  a  moor; 
it  would  freeze  the  poetic  thought  within  my  brain,  the 
glowing  words  upon  my  tongue.  Are  you  really  serious 
about  your  predilection  for  this  desert,  professor?  If  so, 
I  entreat  you  show  me  something  besides  moor — moor — 
everlasting  moor,  that  intolerable  brown  plain.  Is  there 
even  the  note  of  a  bird  to  be  heard?  And  where  has  the 
busy  hum  of  human  life,  which  one  expects  to  hear 
around,  disappeared  to?  Is  it  buried  underground?  I 
can't  help  it,  professor.  Your  favorite  haide  appears  to 
me  like  a  God-forgotten  child  in  a  dingy  brown  garb." 

The  professor  made  no  reply.  He  only  led  the  young 
man  toward  the  back  of  the  hill,  and  taking  him  by  the 
shoulder  bade  him  look  southward. 

There  lay  the  Dierkhof.  From  every  tile  of  its  broad 
strong  roof  grew  the  wild  flowers  of  the  moor,  while  the 
house  itself  stood  embosomed  in  the  midst  of  four  splendid 
oaks.  Great  clouds  of  smoke,  reminding  one  of  steaming 
pots  and  a  cozy  hearth,  rose  and  vanished  in  the  light 
summer  breeze  far  above  the  black-and-white  Frau 
Storchin,  who  sat  with  her  long  legs  concealed  in  the  nest, 
her  red  bill  resting  on  her  breast.  It  was  still  light 
enough  to  discern  the  rich  pasture  of  the  green  fields  and 
to  catch  a  faint  glimpse  of  the  garden — all  looked  like  a 
reflection  which  the  roseate  glow  of  evening  had  left  be- 
hind. There  were  Use's  pets,  the  great  orange  marigolds, 
and  at  t'faat  identical  moment  up  came  Mieke,  satiated  and 


14  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

weary,  seeking  home  of  her  own  accord.  She  stood  for  a 
moment  irresolutely  before  the  open  door,  which  stood 
invitingly  ajar,  and  the  noble  animal  completed  the  picture 
of  rural  prosperity. 

"Does  that  look  as  if  weak-minded  nincompoops  dwelt 
there?"  asked  the  professor,  smiling.  "Just  come  and 
visit  the  moor  a  month  hence,  when  it  is  one  sheet  of 
bloom  and  the  purple  gleams  and  glistens!  It  is  just  like 
fairyland.  And  later  still  when  it  presents  one  mass  of 
burnished  gold,  the  gold  of  honey,  what  more  can  you 
desire?  The  'God-forgotten  child'  then  dons  the  robe  of 
a  king's  daughter,  and  many  of  its  little  streams,  such  as 
you  see  yonder,  contain  pearls." 

"Yes,  millions  of  watery  pearls  flowing  toward  the 
ocean,"  laughed  the  young  man. 

The  professor  shook  his  head  impatiently,  and  despite 
his  withered  face,  his  jaw-breaking  words,  and  ugly  rat- 
tling box,  my  heart  was  drawn  to  him  for  his  defense  of 
my  beloved  moor;  in  a  few  concise  words  he  had  summed 
up  the  blessings  and  beauties  which  it  breathed. 

I  determined,  however,  to  take  down  this  young  gentle- 
man's insolence,  whose  scorn  and  ridicule  made  my  blood 
boil.  To  this  day  I  know  not  whence  I  summoned  cour- 
age, but  suddenly  I  found  myself  at  his  side,  presenting 
my  hand,  in  which  lay  five  pearls. 

I  felt  as  if  I  were  standing  on  hot  burning  coals;  my 
lips  were  trembling  with  nervousness  and  shame  and  my 
eyes  were  fixed  on  the  ground.  All  around  me  grew 
dark;  every  one  crowded  about  me;  the  gentleman  who 
had  meantime  left  the  hill,  the  workmen,  Heinz  with 
his  gigantic  boots — all  were  there. 

"Ha!  ha!  Mr.  Claudius,  see  there:  the  child  wants  to 
give  you  a  lesson!  Bravo,  little  maiden,  bravo!"  cried 
the  professor,  at  once  surprised  and  delighted. 

The  young  man  never  uttered  a  syllable.  Perhaps  he 
was  struck  dumb  by  the  audacity  of  a  haide  child  daring 
to  approach  him  in  a  coarse  linen  jacket  and  woolen  petti- 
coat. Slowly,  and  as  it  seemed  to  me  reluctantly,  he 
stretched  out  his  hand  to  take  them — and  then,  indeed, 
hame  and  fright  thoroughly  overcame  me.  My  own 
sunburnt  hands  beside  those  milk-white  fingers  ,-m<l 
polished  nails  looked  as  brown  as  coffao.  I  shrank  back 
involuntarily  and  would  have  flung  away  the  pearls  for  A 
aong. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR  15 

"I  declare  they  have  not  been  bored  yet!"  he  ex- 
claimed, rolling  two  of  the  tiny  beads  about  in  the  palm 
of  his  hand. 

''Oh,  I  admit  there  is  much  to  desire  in  the  way  of 
form  and  color,"  said  the  professor  apologetically. 
"They  are  grayish  and  irregular  and  of  but  little  real 
value;  still,  it  is  interesting  to  meet  with  them." 

"I  should  like  to  keep  them,"  said  the  young  man  in  a 
tone  that  sounded  like  a  polite  request. 

"Take  them,  then,"  I  replied  curtly,  without  looking 
up.  I  fancied  every  word  I  uttered  betrayed  my  beating 
heart. 

He  took  the  remaining  pearls  carefully  from  my  hand, 
and  I  then  observed  the  gentleman  in  the  brown  hat  take 
some  glittering  thing  out  of  his  pocket;  it  made  a  chink- 
ing sound. 

"Here,  my  child,"  said  he,  laying  five  large  round 
shining  pieces  in  my  hand. 

I  looked  up  at  him  and-  saw  a  broad-brimmed  hat  which 
nearly  hid  his  face,  and  in  addition  a  pair  of  blue  spectacles 
which  threw  a  ghastly  light  on  the  cheek. 

"  What  is  that?"  I  inquired,  fascinated  in  spite  of  my- 
self by  the  size  and  glitter  of  the  strange  things. 

"What  is  that!"  repeated  the  gentleman  in  amazement. 
"Don't  you  know  what  money  is,  little  one?  Have  you 
never  had  any  thalers  before?" 

"No,  sir,"  replied  Heinz,  stepping  forward  and  answer- 
ing for  me  in  a  tone  of  fatherly  authority.  "The  old  lady 
never  allows  money  in  the  house,  and  if  she  finds  any 
throws  it  at  once  into  the  river." 

"What!  And  who  is  this  extraordinary  old  woman?" 
inquired  the  three  gentlemen  in  a  breath. 

"The  princess'  grandmother." 

At  this  the  young  gentleman  burst  out  laughing.  "This 
princess?"  he  inquired,  pointing  at  me. 

I  dropped  the  silver  coins  upon  the  ground  and  fled. 
Wicked,  wicked  Heinz!  Why  had  I  ever  told  him  that 
story  about  the  lovely  princess  at  the  Erbsen-Priifstein, 
and  why  had  I  allowed  him  ever  since  to  call  me  "his 
little  princess"  because  he  fancied  that  earth  contained 
nothing  tinier  or  tenderer  than  the  small,  light-footed 
morsel  of  humanity  which  tripped  over  the  wild  moor  by 
hia  side? 


16  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  ran  home  as  if  pursued.  The  young  man's  derisive 
laugh  seemed  to  follow  me,  and  I  had  some  dim  notion 
that  once  under  the  Dierkhof  roof  it  would  cease  to  tor- 
ment me. 

Use  was  standing  at  the  door,  evidently  on  the  lookout 
for  me,  for  Mieke  had  returned  alone.  Even  in  the  dis- 
tance my  gaze  was  riveted  on  that  form  which  stood  out 
in  hard  sharp  outline  in  the  evening  twilight  against  the 
long  dark  passage  behind  her.  How  dear  that  fair  head 
yonder  was  to  me!  It  was  just  as  yellow  as  Heinz'  thin 
stubble,  and  strove  along  the  parting  to  stand  upright  like 
a  brush.  Use  had  the  same  pointed  nose  as  her  brother 
and  the  same  fresh,  pure  blood  which  gave  her  cheeks 
such  a  ruddy  glow — but  the  eyes,  those  eyes  which  brother 
Heinz  had  such  respect  for,  were  altogether  different,  and 
as  I  drew  near  I  did  not  like  them. 

"Have  you  lost  your  senses,  Lenore?"  she  began  in 
her  usual  abrupt  manner.  She  was  angry,  as  angry  as  her 
ordinarily  calm  and  equable  temperament  admitted,  for 
she  called  me  by  my  name,  and  that  never  occurred  except 
when  her  temper  was  ruffled.  She  then  silently  pointed 
at  the  spot  I  was  standing  on,  and  I  then  first  perceived 
(what  really  was  dreadful)  that  my  feet  were  bare. 

"Ah,  .Use,"  I  replied,  quite  subdued,  "my  shoes  and 
stockings  are  by  the  river's  brim." 

"Silly,  fetch  them  immediately." 

She  turned  away  and  moved  toward  the  hearth  which, 
though  arranged  in  the  more  economical  style  of  modern 
days,  still  retained  the  old-fashioned  position  habitual  in 
thoroughly  North  Saxon  houses,  viz.,  at  the  furthest  end 
of  the  barn  or  sometimes  even  the  cattle-stalls.  Use  had 
bacon  on  the  fire,  which  was  crackling  and  smelled  so 
^ood,  and  from  the  steaming  pot  of  potatoes  great  bubbles 
were  rising. 

Supper  was  evidently  just  ready,  and  if  I  wished  to  be 
in  good  time  I  must  make  haste,  yet  for  the  whole  world 
I  could  not  venture  again  outside  that  door.  If,  however, 
1  stole  out  by  one  of  the  back  doors  the  Dierkhof  itself 
would  conceal  me,  and  I  could  reach  the  river  unseen  by 
the  people  on  the  hill 


THE  PRINCESS  OP  THIS  MOOR. 


III. 

1  TOOK  a  few  steps  toward  a  side  door,  which,  situated 
between  the  barn  and  the  dwelling-rooms,  led  into  the 
open  air,  into  the  so-called  orchard.  But  Ilse  barred  my 
way  and  held  up  a  warning  finger  at  me. 

"You  cannot  go  out  there,"  said  she  in  a  low  voice; 
"your  grandmother  is  there." 

The  door  stood  open  and  I  could  see  her  working  away 
at  the  pump-handle  furiously;  a  not  uncommon  sight, 
for  she  did  the  same  every  day. 

My  grandmother  was  tall  and  powerfully  made.  Her 
face,  from  the  roots  of  her  hair  down  to  her  neck,  was  one 
mass  of  bright  red.  This  coloring,  combined  with  her 
strongly  marked  features,  her  bulky  form,  long  strides, 
and  sudden  energetic  gestures,  gave  her  a  wild  and  fero- 
cious aspect.  Even  now,  when  I  recall  the  moments  in 
which  I  have  come  upon  her  unawares,  the  trembling  and 
cracking  of  the  boards  under  her  feet,  and  the  sudden  rush 
of  wind  her  passing  made,  despite  her  black  eyes  and 
thoroughly  Oriental  cast  of  feature  I  am  reminded  of 
those  Amazonian  Cimbrian  women  who,  with  a  skin  hound 
round  them,  battle-ax  in  hand,  cast  themselves  into  the 
midst  of  men  in  battle. 

My  grandmother  was  holding  her  head  under  the  heavy 
stream  of  water.  It  was  flowing  over  her  face  and  her 
coarse  gray  hair,  which  was  hanging  down  in  the  well. 
Such  was  her  habitual  custom  even  in  the  severest  winter. 
This  refreshment  seemed  as  indispensable  to  her  existence 
as  the  very  air  she  breathed.  Still,  her  face  struck  me  to- 
day as  being  redder  than  ever.  Even  under  the  stream 
of  icy  water  it  shone  with  a  deep  red  hue,  and  as  she 
raised  herself  up  and  threw  back  ner  head  with  a  long  sigh 
of  satisfaction,  I  noticed  that  her  lips  were  quite  blue. 

I  looked  at  Use.  She  was  standing  gazing  before  her, 
apparently  lost  in  thought;  her  cold  blue  eyes  were  sof- 
tened by  an  expression  of  melancholy. 

"What  ails  grandmother?"  I  inquired  anxiously. 

"Nothing,"  she  replied  curtly.  "It  is  sultry  to-day." 
Evidently  she  was  annoyed  at  her  sadder  mood  being 
noticed. 

"Is  there  no  remedy,  Ilse,  against  this  fearful  rush  of 
Wood,  to  the  head?" 


18  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"She  won't  take  anything,  you  know  that.  Yesterday 
evening  she  threw  out  the  foot-bath  at  my  very  feet. 
Now  go,  child,  and  fetch  your  things." 

Thereupon  she  returned  to  the  hearth  and  I  obediently 
left  the  hous-e  by  another  door.  I  sprang  toward  the 
river,  which  was  about  thirty  paces  from  the  Dierkhof, 
and  tried  to  make  my  way  through  the  brushwood  grow- 
ing on  its  banks.  This  was  not  so  easy,  for  it  had  been 
allowed  to  grow  at  will  undisturbed  by  the  hand  of  man. 
Notwithstanding  I  persevered,  for  though  the  tough 
willows  impeded  my  progress  and  hurt  my  bare  feet,  yet 
they  acted  as  a  complete  protection  from  the  strangers' 
eyes,  and  by  the  time  I  had  made  some  way  I  had  ample 
reason  to  bless  the  shelter  they  afforded  me.  Eight  across 
the  moor,  what  did  I  behold  but  the  three  gentlemen 
making  for  the  river,  with  Heiuz  in  advance. 

I  still  hoped  to  reach  the  little  nook  where  I  had  left 
my  shoes  and  stockings  before  they  came  up  to  it,  but  all 
my  efforts  were  in  vain,  so  I  crouched  resignedly  in  the 
copse,  tolerably  near  the  desired  goal. 

I  could  easily  guess  what  hacl  led  them  thither,  for 
Heinz  was  pointing  out  the  smooth  grassy  path  which  led 
through  the  copse  by  the  river's  brim,  walking  was  in- 
deed somewhat  different  there  from  on  the  rough  wild 
heather.  The  path  was  smooth  and  soft  as  velvet  and 
seemed  formed  for  dainty  feet.  The  gentlemen  passed 
quite  close  to  me.  I  could  hear  the  sound  of  their  foot- 
steps and  feel  the  stirring  of  the  branches  which  softly 
played  against  my  arm.  At  the  birch  tree  they  made  a 
pause. 

"Aha!  the  haide  princess  has  been  making  her  toilet 
here,"  exclaimed  the  young  gentleman. 

My  heart  was  in  my  mouth.  I  bent  eagerly  forward  and 
saw  him  pick  up  one  of  the  shoes.  Instinct  at  that 
moment  seemed  to  tell  me  how  a  lady's  delicate  slipper 
ought  to  look.  I  had  read  in  fairy-tales  of  little  red 
shoes,  of  slippers  embroidered  in  silver,  etc.,  and  the  paper 
on  which  this  enchanted  lore  was  inscribed  seemed  far  too 
coarse  to  serve  even  for  the  soles  of  these  ethereal  works 
of  art  in  silk  and  velvet.  The  ill- shaped  specimen  which 
the  stranger  now  held  up  to  view  with  a  laugh  was  made 
of  the  strongest  calf -skin — in  Use's  eyes  wood  itself  was 
not  sufficiently  stout  or  durable  for  my  fidgety  feet. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  19 

This  very  morning  the  shoes  had  been  left  beside  my 
bed,  brand-new,  accompanied  by  a  pair  of  strong  stockings 
which  Use  had  spun  and  knitted  herself  out  of  the  wool  of 
the  haide  sheep.  It  was  her  birthday  gift  to  me,  of  which 
she  was  genuinely  proud.  I  had  been  delighted  with 
them,  and  Use  had  given  a  nod  of  satisfaction  at  the  extra 
row  of  shining  nails  the  shoemaker  had  ornamented  the 
soles  with ;  now  these  same  rows  were  shining  out  inim- 
ically  at  me. 

"My — what  a  child!  She  has  actually  left  her  shoes 
behind  her,"  said  Heinz,  shaking  his  head.  "Quite  new 
shoes,  too.  I  wonder  what  Use  would  say  to  that,"  he 
added  anxiously. 

"Whose  is  the  child  we  saw  on  the  hill?"  inquired  the 
old  gentleman  with  the  brown  hat  and  the  soft  voice. 

"She  lives  at  the  Dierkhof,  sir." 

"Yes,  but  what  is  her  name?" 

Heinz  cocked  his  hat  on  one  side  and  scratched  his  ear. 
I  saw  his  answer  would  be  cunning — that  he  was  thinking 
of  the  dreadful  moment  when  I  had  stamped  at  him — and 
oh,  he  knew  how  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty. 

"Well,  sir,  Use  calls  her  'child'  and  I  call  her " 

"Princess,"  suggested  the  young  gentleman  in  the  same 
tone  of  gravity  as  my  sly  friend.  Just  as  he  had  thrown 
away  the  discoveries  from  the  grave  above,  so  in  like  man- 
ner did  he  fling  that  little  horror  of  a  shoe  away  now,  only 
on  this  occasion  he  pretended  that  it  cost  him  quite  an 
effort. 

"Ah,  the  ladies  in  the  haide  like  to  leave  an  impression 
behind  them,"  he  remarked  to  the  gentleman  in  the  brown 
hat.  "Charlotte  ought  really  to  see  this  beautiful  piece 
of  fairy  lightness,  uncle.  I  have  a  great  mind  to  bring  it 
with  me." 

"No  nonsense,  Dagobert,"interrupted  the  other  sternly; 
but  Heinz  only  said: 

"Oh,  not  at  all,  sir!  But  what  would  Use  say— quite 
new  shoes,  too!" 

"Brr — this  Use  seems  to  be  the  dragon  that  guards  this 
barefooted  princess — voila !"  And  he  flung  the  shoes 
away  again  with  a  laugh,  rubbing  his  hands  together  to 
brush  off  the  dust. 

They  then  saluted  Heinz  and  proceeded  on  their  way, 
leaving  my  old  friend  in  the  act  of  packing  my  unfortu- 


20  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

nate  shoes  into  his  capacious  pocket,  whither  the  stockings 
followed  on  his  discovering  them  waving  on  a  bush  close 
by.  This  ended,  he  set  off  for  the  Dierkhof  at  a  rapid 
pace. 

I  stayed  a  little  longer  in  my  hiding-place  listening  to 
the  strangers'  footsteps  as  they  gradually  died  away  on 
the  soft  sod.  I  was  greatly  excited,  but  in  those  days  1 
could  not  analyze  the  feelings  which  seemed  literally  chok- 
ing me.  Tears,  hitherto  suppressed,  came  to  my  relief, 
and  I  indulged  in  a  passionate  flood  of  them.  Pique,  a 
vindictive  pique,  was  my  ailment.  "How  silly,"  I  mut- 
tered between  my  teeth,  thinking  of  Heinz'  diplomatic 
answer.  He  could  easily  have  said  that  Dr.  von  Saasen  is 
my  father;  but  no,  he  must  needs  answer  like  a  Solomon; 
and  I  felt  angry,  oh,  how  angry  with  him. 

I  left  the  thicket.  Clouds  of  smoke  were  no  longer 
ascending  from  the  Dierkhof.  Use,  no  doubt,  had 
dished  the  potatoes  long  ago  and  laid  aside  a  few  of  the 
finest  on  a  plate  with  a  bowl  of  rich  milk,  for  she  spoiled 
even  when  she  pretended  to  be  angry  with  me.  Xo  doubt 
she  was  watching  for  meat  the  present  moment,  but  home 
I  could  not  go  without  first  looking  how  the  strangers  had 
left  my  poor  mangled  hill. 

It  looked  better  than  I  expected.  The  block  was  re- 
placed in  its  former  position,  the  earth  thrown  up  on  it 
again,  and  the  fragments  of  the  vessels  were  no  longer 
visible.  Nothing  was  out  of  order  save  the  bushes  which 
had  been  torn  up.  They  lay  strewn  around,  and  on  the 
small  patch  of  sand  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  lay  a  heap  of 
human  ashes,  while  half-concealed  beneath  a  plant  of 
broom  lay  a  small,  half -burned  bone,  forever  separated  now 
from  the  other  members,  which  had  no  doubt  been  re- 
placed in  the  tomb. 

I  lifted  it  up  carefully.  The  young  gentleman  had  been 
right— the  mound  had  contained  no  giants.  The  fragile 
structure  which  I  held  in  my  hand  was  probably  once  a 
finger-bone  clothed  in  soft  flesh,  delicately  formed,  and 
boasting  perhaps  as  smooth  and  white  a  skin  as  that  which 
I  had  this  dav  seen  and  admired.  Perhaps  it  had  been 
loved  and  decked  with  costly  jewels;  or  mayhap  on  its 
slightest  movement  hung  the  weal  or  woe  of  many  a 
human  soul.  I  climbed  up  the  hill  and  buried  it  at  the 
foot  of  the  old  pine.  The  good  old  tree  spread  its  branches 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  21 

protectingly  over  it,  but  who  could  say  if  it  had  not  itself 
that  day  received  its  death-blow? 

Embracing  its  trunk  with  my  arm,  I  gazed  where  the 
little  river  yonder  wound  its  way  toward  the  wood.  How 
rare  was  it  to  see  mankind  there!  Men's  footsteps  on 
that  still,  solemn,  monotonous  waste,  where  the  only 
sound  ever  heard  was  the  cry  of  some  bird  of  prey  wheel- 
ing his  giddy  flight  so  high  amid  the  heavens  that  his 
shrill  note  was  lost  in  space!  Now  it  seemed  to  me  as  if 
the  echo  of  those  retreating  footsteps  could  never  again 
die  away. 

They  were  hastening  back  into  the  world — the  world! — 
I  too  had  been  there  already.  To  me,  indeed,  it  had  con- 
sisted only  of  a  dark  back  room  and  a  damp  little  garden 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  enormously  high  houses;  and 
out  of  that  busy  multitude  also  called  "the  world,"  but  a 
few  individual  faces  had  come  within  my  immediate  obser- 
vation. In  that  self-same  back  room  the  three  first  years 
of  my  life  had  been  spent.  Around  the  one  face  most 
firmly  fixed  in  my  memory  hung  a  cloud  of  thin  gray 
curls,  and  I  could  still  have  painted  the  glitter  of  the  pale 
green  eyes,  the  thick  cocked  nose  and  gray  lifeless  com- 
plexion. Such  was  Fraulein  Streit,  the  lady  from  whom 
I  received  my  first  lessons. 

One  other  face  floated  now  and  then  across  the  dim 
background  of  these  my  earliest  remembrances.  I  had 
seen  it  but  too  rarely,  but  in  later  days,  when  I  heard 
the  rustling  of  silk,  a  shadow  with  imperfect  outlines 
seemed  to  pass  before  me  and  a  voice  to  say  in  tones  of 
annoyance,  "Child,  you  make  me  nervous."  Angry  and 
nervous  thereby  became  synonymous  terms  to  me.  This 
form  in  rustling  silk,  which  never  did  more  than  pass 
through  the  bacK  room,  and  once  perhaps  at  most  laid 
a  warm  soft  hand  upon  my  head — this  lady  was  called  by 
Fraulein  Streit  "gnadige  Frau"  and  by  me  "Mamma." 

There  came  a  day  when  I  awoke,  no  longer  in  the  dis- 
mal back  chamber,  but  in  the  arms  of  a  great,  tall  man, 
with  stiff  yellow  hair,  who  was  carrying  me.  He  looked 
at  me  kindly  and  said,  "Ha!  ha!  have  you  slept  it  out?" 
Beside  him  walked  Fraulein  Streit  dressed  in  black. 
Heavy  tears  were  coursing  down  her  cheeks,  and  I  noticed 
that  she  wrung  her  hands  in  silence.  Right  before  us 
stood  the  house  with  the  stork's  nest  and  four  oaks,  and 


22  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

just  as  I  looked  into  the  man's  heated  face  and  prepared 
myself  to  give  a  fine  loud  scream  of  terror,  he  called  ont 
"Come,  Putchen,"  and  a  whole  flock  of  different-colored 
fowl  ran  out  of  the  house  door  to  meet  him. 

Yonder  also  stood  the  lady  with  the  red  face.  She 
offered  Fraulein  Streit  her  hand  and  kissed  me,  weeping, 
which  greatly  terrified  me.  This,  however,  was  soon  for- 
gotten. A  calf  was  playing  ajsout  in  the  farm-yard,  and 
it  suddenly  stood  up  on  its  hind  legs  before  the*  man  and 
remained  in  that  ridiculous  position.  The  stork  was  clap- 
pering  on  the  roof,  and  Use — Use  of  the  black  eyes — held 
a  little  animal  before  me  whose  soft  velvet  fur  I  patted 
fearlessly;  it  was  a  little  mewing  kitten.  The  bright 
golden  sunshine  played  over  the  whole  scene;  the  leaves 
on  the  trees  were  rustling  in  the  haide  breeze.  I  screamed 
and  cried  with  joy,  while  poor  Fraulein  Streit  was  sobbing 
her  heart  out  on  the  threshold. 

It  was  thus  I  made  my  entry  at  the  Dierkhof  in  Heinz' 
arms,  and  from  that  moment  life  began  for  me.  (The 
previous  night,  while  every  one  was  weeping  over  me,  I 
had  suddenly  become  a  happy  child.)  Hnzzah!  Every 
day  I  trotted  after  Heinz  over  the  broad  moor  merrily. 
On  the  loneliest  spot  of  it  stood  a  mud  cabin  with  a  low 
thatched  roof;  great,  tall  Heinz  had  to  double  himself 
in  two  to  enter;  but  within  it  was  comfortable.  Table 
and  chairs  were  white  as  snow,  and  behind  the  doors  of 
the  two  cupboards,  which  were  formed  out  of  recesses  in 
the  wall,  lay  huge  feather-beds  in  clean  covers  of  variegated 
hue.  Heinz  and  Use  had  been  broom  makers  as  children, 
and  their  old  father  had  built  this  cabin  with  his  own 
hands;  the  two  children  had  been  born  it  and  Heinz  had 
resolved  that  nowhere  else  would  he  die.  In  July  he 
took  charge  of  the  bee-mves  belonging  to  the  farms  around 
the  moor,  and  was  otherwise  occupied  several  days  in  the 
week  working  at  the  Dierkhof. 

I  was  soon  iust  as  much  at  home  in  the  mud  cabin  as  in 
my  grandmother's  house.  I  helped  Heinz  to  eat  his  buck- 
wheat cake  and  was  always  present  when  he  cut  and 
brought  home  hay  for  the  Dierkhof.  He  used  to  lift  me 
up  to  where  the  old  worn-out  bee-hives  were  hung  in  the 
lofts,  where  the  poultry  made  their  nests,  and  amid  shouts 
of  joyous  laughter  I  handed  Use,  who  stood  near,  the 
beautiful  white  eggs. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  y:} 

During  all  this  time  Friiulein  Streit  sat  in  the  largo 
sitting-room,  working  and  crying  the  live-long  day. 
The  dear  old  room  must  have  looked  funny  enough 
in  those  days,  with  nothing  but  the  bare  white- 
washed walls,  the  antiquated  brown  wooden  bench 
behind  the  stove,  and  the  tables  standing  hither 
and  thither  in  the  most  uncivilized  manner.  My  grand- 
mother had  indeed,  in  honor  of  Friiulein  Streit,  sent 
to  the  town  for  a  finely  upholstered  sofa,  and  Use  had 
hung  up  striped  blue-and-white  curtains.  Fraulein  Streit 
generally  kept  these  curtains  drawn,  complaining  that  the 
boundless  stretch  of  moor  with  its  deadly  stillness  fright- 
ened her;  and  when  the  sun  was  bright  or  the  moon  shone 
it  was  all  the  same — it  still  frightened  her.  In  my  fifth 
year  she  began  to  teach  me;  then  Use  used  to  bring  in 
her  work  and  listen ;  at  fifteen  she  had  entered  my  grand- 
mother's service,  then  in  tows.  She  had  had  her  taught 
to  read  and  write  a  little,  but  notwithstanding  the  dear 
old  thing  began  again  with  me.  Many  a  time,  when  worn 
out  and  weary  with  racing  and  running,  I  have  laid  my 
head  of  an  evening  on  Use's  breast;  then  Heinz  has  joined 
us  (of  course  with  his  cold  pipe)  and  Fraulein  Streit  used 
actually  to  become  animated;  her  wan  cheeks  would  flush 
and  the  gray  curls  flutter  around  her  face.  Then  she 
would  relate  whole  histories  of  life  as  it  was  carried  on  in 
my  parental  home,  and  it  seemed  to  grow  quite  clear  to 
me.  I  learned  that  my  father  was  a  man  of  celebrity,  my 
late  mother  a  scholar  and  a  poetess.  Many  renowned  and 
distinguished  people  frequented  our  house,  and  when 
Fraulein  Streit  came  to  the  description  of  her  own  white 
dress  and  the  rose-colored  ribbons  she  wore  in  her  hair 
because  it  was  the  "gniidige  Frau's"  reading  evening,  all 
kinds  of  dreary  recollections  seemed  to  float  through  my 
childish  brain.  Once  again  I  heard  the  bustle  passing  to 
and  fro  by  my  door,  my  evening  milk  was  brought  me  icy 
cold,  and  when  I  awoke  from  my  first  sleep  I  was  all  alone 
in  the  ghostly  room.  Once  again  I  seemed  to  realize  that 
terror  and  scream  aloud,  and  Miss  Streit  came  gliding  in 
like  a  ghost,  scolded  me,  stopped  my  mouth  with  a  bon- 
bon, covered  me  up  to  my  nose,  and  glided  out  again. 

With  these  exceptions,  the  ''heavenly  remembrances" 
of  my  teacher  affected  me  but  little,  and  I  generally  slept 
through  them  till  mercilessly  aroused  by  the  dragging  at 
my  haij. 


24  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

My  long  black  locks  were  always  forced  to  undergo  the 
same  process  every  night  as  the  thin  gray  ones;  every 
night  I  was  compelled  to  pray  for  that  father  whose  face 
no  effort  on  my  part  enabled  me  to  recall. 

So  passed  year  after  year,  Fraulein  Streit  growing  more 
and  more  dissatisfied  with  each  and  weeping  more  abun- 
dantly. Oftentimes  she  used  to  stand  in  the  orchard  and 
sing  in  a  faint  pathetic  voice: 

"  Eilende  Wolken  !     Segler  der  Lute  ! 

Wer  mit  euch  wanderte,  rnit  euchschiffte." 

But  one  day  something  fell  from  her  mouth  and  clat- 
tered on  her  plate  at  dinner.  To  my  amazement  it  turned 
out  to  be  a  false  tooth;  but  after  that  she  made  up  her 
mind  to  leave  at  once,  and  so,  wringing  her  hands,  she 
packed  up. 

"I  owe  it  to  myself,  good  Use,"  she  said  in  taking  leave 
of  her.  "One  has  no  prospects  here."  And  tears 
streamed  down  the  poor  old  face. 

No  prospect  in  the  wide,  wide  moor!  I  was  quite  petri- 
fied by  this  accusation  brought  against  my  idolized  home. 
Heinz  drove  Fraulein  Streit  and  her  trunk  to  the  nearest 
village,  and  I  accompanied  them  part  of  the  way.  After 
we  had  said  good-by  I  stood  and  gazed  after  Fraulein 
Streit's  retreating  form  till  the  last  vestige  of  her  floating 
dress  was  lost  in  the  distant  wood.  Then  off  I  snatched 
my  hat,  threw  it  up  in  the  air,  tore  off  my  tiresome  jacket, 
without  which  Fraulein  Streit  had  never  allowed  me  to  go 
out — oh,  how  delightfully  the  fresh  air  played  about  my 
bare  neck  and  arms! — and  in  this  guise  I  returned  home. 
Use  had  already  removed  the  sofa  from  the  despised 
chamber  and  covered  it  with  a  cloth;  the  blue-and-white 
curtains  she  had  carefully  folded  up,  ready  to  be  laid  by 
in  the  chest. 

I  marched  straight  up  to  Use,  holding  my  long  cumber- 
some locks,  and  said,  Cut  them  off,  Use,"  and  off  they 
came  with  great  clips  of  the  scissors,  such  as  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  hear.  The  hair  was  thrown  on  the  back  of  the 
fire,  my  jacket  was  consigned  to  the  press,  and  henceforth 
I  roamed  about  clad  in  petticoat  and  bodice,  just  like  Use. 

As  I  stood  under  the  old  fir  tree  gazing  after  the  retreat- 
ing figures,  all  these  details  passed  through  my  mind.  It 
was  growing  dark  too,  and  the  strangers  were  by  this  time 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  25 

•carcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  surrounding  bushes, 
and  they  had  already  gone  so  far  that  I  could  no  longer 
even  hear  their  footsteps,  but  I  knew  for  all  chat  that  they 
were  straining  every  nerve  to  leave  the  despised  moor  be- 
hind them,  just  as  Fraulein  Streit  in  days  gone  by.  What 
would  the  young  gentleman  have  said  ha<i  lie  buc  known 
that  the  red-faced  old  lady  at  the  Dierkhof  had  once  fled 
from  a  populous  city  to  make  her  home  on  the  moor? 
Fraulein  Streit,  indeed,  had  always  fancied  that  my  grand- 
mother was  very  profound  and  had  shrunk  from  her  nerv- 
ous glance,  but  to  me  the  peculiarity  about  her  seemed 
inseparable  from  her  whole  appearance,  and  if  it  increased 
imperceptibly  (as  it  did)  while  I  grew  up,  I  thought  it  was 
only  just  what  happened  with  all  grandmothers.  How 
did  it  come,  then,  that  I  began  to  speculate  so  suddenly 
on  subjects  which  had  hitherto  appeared  to  me  as  matters 
of  course?  The  unbounded  astonishment  of  the  strangers 
at  "the  old  woman  who  allowed  no  money  in  the  house" 
had  awakened  my  curiosity,  and  I  asked  myself,  Was  it 
not  equally  strange  that  as  years  rolled  on  my  grandmother 
had  ceased  speaking — that  she  avoided  meeting  any  of  the 
other  occupants  of  the  house  and  only  cast  a  terribly  stern 
glance  at  me  if  I  happened  to  cross  her  path?  She  also 
refused  ever  to  eat  a  morsel  from  any  other  hand  than 
her  own.  Eggs,  on  which  she  chiefly  lived,  she  always 
got  from  the  nest  herself;  the  cow  was  always  milked  by 
her,  that  no  other  hand  might  touch  the  milk  vessel,  no 
other  breath  pass  over  the  liquid  she  used ;  bread  and  meat 
she  never  touched;  now  and  then,  soon  after  my  arrival, 
she  had  bestowed  on  me  an  occasional  caress,  but  later  she 
appeared  to  have  forgotten  my  existence. 

My  father  sent  me  no  new  governess,  to  my  grand- 
mother I  was  the  same  as  nothing,  and  the  distant  village 
schoolmaster  was  no  sorcerer.  Ilse  thought  all  this  too 
bad  for  me,  so  she  did  not  attempt  to  send  me  to  school, 
but  undertook  the  task  of  teaching  me  herself  every  even- 
ing— and  the  task  was  bitter  enough.  She  generally  read 
me  some  chapters  of  the  Bible,  but  always  in  an  under- 
tone, and  it  did  not  escape  me  how  often  she  paused  and 
listened,  looking  anxiously  toward  my  grandmother's 
room.  I  was  also  confirmed  by  the  old  pastor  of  the  parish, 
for  I  had  learned  an  immense  deal  by  heart  with  Use.  At 
that  time  she  literally  stole  out  of  the  Dierkhof  with  me, 


26  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Heinz  keeping  watch  the  while,  and  I  knelt  in  the  little 
village  church  and  there  made  my  declaration  of  faith 
without  my  grandmother  having  the  faintest  suspicion  of 
such  a  thing. 

It  was  thus  I  grew  up,  wild  and  free  as  the  willows 
beside  the  stream,  and  as  I  stood  there  under  the  old  pine, 
barefooted  and  clad  in  a  coarse  short  petticoat,  the  even- 
ing breeze  playing  in  my  wavy  hair,  I  laughed,  laughed 
aloud  at  the  young  dandy  who  had  sought  out  the  soft 
turf  for  his  dainty  boots  and  incased  hia  white  hands  in 
leather — that  was  my  revenge. 


IV. 

IN  the  houses  in  Xorth  Saxony  the  passage  which  con- 
nects the  barn  and  the  dwelling-rooms,  where  the  kitchen- 
range  is  situated,  is  called  the  fleet.  At  the  Dierkhof  it 
was  raised,  according  to  ancient  custom,  several  inches 
above  the  earthen  floor  of  the  barn;  but  with  this  excep- 
tion there  was  nothing,  not  even  a  wooden  partition,  to 
separate  the  latter  from  the  dwelling-rooms.  This 
arrangement  enabled  people  to  take  at  one  glance  a  view 
of  the  whole  establishment,  extending  from  the  threshing- 
floor  to  the  principal  entrance  and  embracing  even  the 
cattle-stalls  on  either  side.  From  this  passage  a  window 
and  two  doors  opened  into  the  dwelling-rooms;  it  was 
nicely  paved,  and  as  already  mentioned  a  door  on  either 
side  led  into  the  open  air;  to  me  it  was  the  coziest  spot  in 
all  the  house;  yonder  too,  not  far  from  the  hearth,  stood 
the  summer  dining-table. 

When,  after  my  return  home  from  my  wild  evening 
ramble,  I  entered  this  quiet  nook  with  Use,  the  lamp  was 
already  burning  on  the  table,  but  it  looked  like  a  mere 
spark  in  the  midst  of  that  huge,  dark,  smoky  apartment. 
The  last  streaks  of  the  fading  twilight  stole  through  the 
open  door  and  lighted  up  the  inviting  cattle-stalls.  They 
were  empty.  At  the  Dierkhof  farming  was  carried  on 
only  jnst  as  far  as  our  own  immediate  wants  demanded. 
Near  the  door,  however,  with  her  head  turned  toward  the 
barn,  lay  Mieke,  chewing  the  cud.  She  held  her  horns 
toward  me,  evidently  feeling  her  heavy  garland  unsuitable 
for  a  night  toilet. 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  27 

Use  cast  one  glance  at  the  "festively  adorned"  beast, 
and  turning  away  her  head  tapped  me  lightly  on  the 
shoulder.  I  did  not  require  to  be  told  she  was  laughing 
at  my  "eternal  nonsense." 

Supper  had  been  served  in  my  absence.  A  huge  pile  of 
potato-skins  bore  witness  to  Heinz'  feats  at  it.  Use  this 
time  without  a  lecture,  removed  my  cold  potatoes  and 
substituted  in  their  stead  some  nice,  well-cooked  eggs.  I 
heard  Heinz  pottering  about  in  the  orchard  outside,  and 
Use  was  also  busy  running  hither  and  thither;  her  hands 
were  full,  and  it  certainly  was  not  the  time  to  choose,  but 
the  question  which  had  been  hovering  on  my  lips  would 
come  out. 

"Use,  what  is  the  name  of  the  place  my  father  lives  in 
now?" 

She  was  just  in  the  act  of  crossing  over  toward  the 
orchard,  but  stood  still  in  amazement. 

"Do  you  want  to  write  to  him?"  she  inquired. 

I  laughed  out  loud.  "I?  I  write  a  letter?  Oh,  Use, 
how  ridiculous  that  sounds!  No,  no,  I  only  want  to  know 
the  name  of  the  people  my  father  is  living  with  now." 

"Must  you  know  it  immediately?" 

I  did  not  venture  to  say  "yes,"  but  Use  no  doubt  saw 
burning  impatience  written  in  my  face,  for  she  disap- 
peared into  the  other  room  and  brought  out  a  little  box. 

"There,"  she  said,  "look  for  the  address  yourself — I 
don't  remember  it;  but  don't  lose  anything  and  don't 
rummage  too  much." 

She  left  me.  How  neatly  and  systematically  the  writ- 
ten link  between  the  Dierkhof  and  the  outer  world  was 
arranged  in  that  small  square  box!  There  lay  the  thin, 
fragile  envelope  which  inclosed  my  father's  letters.  They 
bore  only  Use's  address,  contained  only  a  few  polite  lines, 
a  remembrance  to  my  grandmother  and  myself,  and  a 
decided  negative  to  Use's  oft-repeated  request  that  I  might 
be  removed  from  the  Dierkhof  and  sent  to  school.  What- 
ever correspondence  had  been  kept  up  with  the  outer 
world  had  been  carried  on  entirely  through  Use;  she  dis- 
charged her  part  in  it  with  sighs  and  infinite  trouble — in 
great  stiff  characters  and  with  characteristic  brevity.  I 
never  troubled  my  head  about  it,  for  in  proportion  to  my 
love  of  reading,  and  insatiable  as  my  desire  to  con  over 
the  well-worn  children's  story-books  left  by  Frauleiu 


28  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

Streit,  so  great  was  my  detestation  of  writing.  I  literally 
hated  it.  Among  my  father's  letters  I  found  one  whicn 
I  knew  had  but  recently  arrived.  "To  Frau  Rathin  von 
Sassen,  Hanover,"  was  written  in  light,  elegant  characters 
on  the  envelope;  another  and  coarser  hand  had  added  the 
name  of  the  post-town  nearest  the  Dierkhof.  This  letter 
was  to  my  grandmother,  and  the  only  one  I  could  remem- 
ber ever  having  been  thus  addressed  since  I  had  come  to 
the  house.  When  Heinz  had  brought  it  in  and  given  it  to 
Use  a  few  weeks  previously,  I  had  just  glanced  at  the 
writing  and  run  away  without  waiting  to  hear  its  contents. 
Nothing  beyond  the  haide  and  what  immediately  con- 
cerned it  possessed  the  faintest  attraction  for  me.  But  a 
change  had  suddenly  come  over  me  in  this  respect.  The 
broken  seal  tempted  me  to  take  a  glance  at  the  sheet 
within,  but  I  dared  not  do  so  without  Use's  permission,  so 
I  laid  the  letter  aside  upon  the  table. 

My  father's  address  was  soon  found.  As  I  sought  it  out 
impatiently  from  among  his  last  letters,  what  should  I  see 
written  under  his  name  but  "Firma  Claudius,  No.  64  in 
K." 

A  sudden  pang  shot  through  me,  and  I  felt  the  color 
rise  flaming  to  my  cheeks  as  I  saw  the  name  which  the 
professor  had  mentioned  the  previous  day  standing  in 
black  and  white  before  me.  How  quickly  did  my  father's 
hasty  cramped  writing  become  legible  to  me!  I  knew  the 
contents  of  these  letters  thoroughly.  Use  had  read  them 
to  me  before,  yet  I  began  to  go  over  them  once  more. 
There  was  the  uniform  emptiness  and  coldness  for  which 
my  father's  letters  were  remarkable.  He  never  once  in- 
quired "what  is  my  child  doing?  Is  she  well  and  does 
she  think  of  me?"  and  at  that  moment  it  suddenly  dawned 
upon  me,  if  but  dimly,  that  herein  he  was  guilty  of  a  great 
wrong  toward  me. 

The  meaningless  lines  closed  with  the  words,  "The  letter 
from  Naples  is  to  remain  unanswered  and  to  be  kept,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  from  my  mother."  This  evidently  re- 
ferred to  the  letter  which  lay  near  me;  it  bore  the  Naples 
post-mark  and  was,  of  course,  doubly  interesting  to  me 
now. 

I  folded  up  the  transparent  sheet,  disheartened  and  dis- 
appointed. It  told  nothing  of  my  father's  abode  or  of  his 
connection  with  the  people  of  the  name  of  Claudius. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  29 

Suddenly  I  sprang  up  and  threw  it  back  into  the  box. 
What  were  these  strangers  to  me?  There  was  I,  Bitting 
grumbling  over  people  that  were  nothing,  absolutely  noth- 
ing to  me,  while  Heinz  was  fussing  and  bustling  about  the 
yard  outside.  At  other  times  whenever  he  began  working 
after  hours  I  always  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  took  him 
by  the  arm,  and  dragged  him  nolens  volens  into  the  hall, 
where  I  made  him  sit  down  on  the  wooden  bench,  his  own 
undisputed  place.  After  that  I  reached  him  a  lighted 
match  of  pine  wood,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  cloud  of 
smoke  would  envelop  his  dear  smiling  face.  Use  also 
generally  brought  her  sewing,  while  I  read  aloud  with 
nndiminished  ardor  the  tales  I  already  knew  by  heart.  If 
it  was  wet  or  chilly  outside,  then  the  fire  was  piled  up 
doubly  within  and  Use  would  pour  us  out  some  hot  tea. 

How  cozy  it  was  to  sit  thus  in  that  sheltered  hall,  under 
the  warm  roof,  on  which  the  rain  came  plashing  inces- 
santly, while  the  bright  glow  from  the  hearth  shone 
around,  and  a  home-like  calm  pervaded  the  large  space 
filled  with  clouds  of  tobacco-smoke.  Now  and  then  the 
chain  round  Mieke's  neck  rattled,  or  the  sleepy  hens  roost- 
ing above  gave  a  stir,  or  Spitz,  perhaps,  would  give  him- 
self another  stretch  upon  the  hearth-stone.  All,  every- 
thing I  loved  was  contained  within  those  four  walls.  My 
soul  was  tranquil,  had  no  longings,  no  desires;  my  young 
heart  was  only  full  of  tenderness  for  those  two  between 
whom  I  sat,  and  now  strange  faces  suddenly  came  in  be- 
tween, and  I  blushed  to  think  what  an  effect  their  influ- 
ence had  produced  on  me  all  at  once. 

There  was  no  deceiving  myself.  Instead  of  clinging  to 
my  old  friend,  whom  the  distinguished  young  gentleman 
had  regarded  with  such  disdain,  I  had  absolutely  felt 
ashamed  of  him.  I  had  lost  my  temper,  stamped  my  foot 
at  him  who  had  always  shown  such  unwearied  patience 
with  me,  and  scolded  him  simply  because  he  had  puzzled 
his  brains  to  answer  as  he  thought  I  wished  and  desired. 
And  why  had  I  done  all  this?  Because  I  was  all  at  once 
possessed  with  the  fancy  to  show  off  my  celebrated  father, 
to  whom  I  was  a  nonentity,  while  Heinz'  kind  arms  had 
protected  me  throughout  my  infancy  and  childhood. 

I  must  beg  his  pardon,  penitently  beg  his  pardon,  and 
that  immediately.  This  decision  was  easily  arrived  at,  for 
at  that  moment  the  door  out  of  the  orchard  opened  and 


30  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Heinz  entered,  followed  by  Spitz.  I  flew  toward  him  and 
laid  my  hand  on  his  broad  breast — higher  I  could  not 
reach. 

" Heinz,  you  are  dreadfully  angry  with  me,  are  you 
not?" 

"Ei,  princess,  I  must  first  know  what  about/'  said  he, 
his  pipe  in  his  mouth  and  he  himself  standing  still  and 
motionless  before  me. 

"You  do  know  why,  Heinz,"  I  replied.  "Scold  me 
well.  I 'have  been  abominably  naughty.  You  could  not 
have  believed  it  of  me,  now,  could  you — to  stamp  at  you 
actually!" 

"Oh,  that  was  only  a  jest." 

"A  jest?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  It  was  earnest,  real 
bitter  earnest!  Do  not  be  so  good  to  me,  Heinz.  I  don't 
deserve  it  and  I  must  be  punished.  I  have  been  childish, 
and  passionate,  and  a  miserably  ungrateful  thing." 

"Eh,  indeed,  and  what  else  besides?" 

"A  coward,  Heinz!  Yes,  that  was  what  set  me  beside 
myself.  There  I  stood,  hemmed  in,  as  it  were,  on  the 
hill,  and  all  eyes  would  no  doubt  have  been  turned  on  me 
had  you  said " 

"Wouldn't  have  said  anything!  Ha!  ha!  ha!  not  one 
word,"  and  he  tapped  his  forehead  with  his  forefinger. 
"Cunning  as  they  are,  they  might  have  questioned  long 
enough  in  vain."  And  with  a  sudden  movement  he  dived 
into  the  recesses  of  his  pocket,  saying:  "But  this  lump  of 
money,  which  was  rolling  about  upon  the  ground — that 
the  people  would  not  take  back  again,  say  what  I  would; 
so  I  had  to  pick  it  up,  and  there  it  is,  princess." 

And  as  he  spoke  he  placed  the  bright  crown  pieces  in  a 
pile  on  the  palm  of  his  hand,  while  his  small  eyes  ran  over 
them  lovingly. 

Five  silver  pieces — one  for  each  pearl !  That  was  what 
had  been  intended.  The  old  gentleman's  "Here,  my 
child"  had  sounded  so  exactly  as  if  I  had  expected  this 
for  them,  and  I  had  meant  them  all  the  time  as  a  present. 
This  idea  vexed  me  now  beyound  endurance,  and  I  growled 
out,  "I  won't  have  them,  Heinz,"  trying  at  the  same 
time  to  knock  up  his  hand.  I  succeeded  but  too  well, 
and  once  again  the  money  rolled  upon  the  ground,  but 
oh,  what  a  fearful  noise  the  great  metal  pieces  made  as 
they  clinked  against  the  stone  pavement.  Such  a  sound 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  31 

had  not  been  heard  within  the  Dierkhof  walls  for  years, 
and  I  had  never  heard  it. 

I  turned  involuntarily,  with  a  nervous  glance,  toward  a 
window  which  overlooked  the  fleet,  and  which  was  always 
heavily  draped  with  a  thick  curtain,  never  raised  within 
my  memory.  Now  it  was  suddenly  withdrawn  and  my 
grandmother  peered  out. 

That  was  a  look  which  might  have  chilled  the  stoutest 
heart.  Trembling,  I  stooped  to  gather  up  the  money, 
but  at  that  moment  the  door  next  the  window  flew  open, 
a  hurricane  seemed  to  pass  through  the  room,  and  I  was 
seized  by  the  shoulder  and  thrown  down  on  the  floor. 

"Don't  touch  it,"  echoed  in  my  ear;  and  how  frightful 
did  that  long-silent  voice  sound  to  me  now.  I  looked  up 
terrified. 

There  stood  that  powerful  being  shaking  her  hand 
fiercely  at  Heinz.  "Du"  *  came  hissing  from  her  lips. 

"Be  calm,  gnadige  Frau,f  be  calm,"  he  stammered  en- 
treatingly.  "I'll  carry  the  whole  affair  and  throw  it  into 
the  river  on  the  spot." 

He  was  trembling  like  an  aspen  leaf,  and  his  fresh  rosy 
face  was  pale  to  his  very  lips. 

With  a  gesture  of  passion  she  turned  her  back  on  him; 
her  long  gray  locks  were  streaming  about  her,  and  with  a 
beating  heart  I  awaited  her  next  movement.  At  that 
instant  she  struck  her  foot  against  one  of  the  coins  and 
recoiled  as  though  a  serpent  had  stung  her.  Then  ensued 
a  scene  such  as  I  can  never  forget.  Tittering,  she  sent 
the  money  at  her  feet  spinning  along  the  floor,  first  one 
piece,  then  another,  and  thus  she  went  all  over  the  hall, 
till  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  a  cat  playing  with  a 
mouse.  With  what  fearful  rapidity,  too,  did  the  change 
of  expression  pass  over  her  features.  She  evidently 
spurned  the  money  from  her  with  horror  and  disgust,  and 
yet  as  often  as  it  rang  upon  the  ground  she  would  stretch 
out  her  long  neck,  listening  with  evident  delight  and  even 
a  degree  of  curiosity  to  the  clear  silver  tone  till  the  last 
echo  had  died  away. 

I  never  moved  from  the  spot  and  scarcely  dared  to 
breathe.  Spitz,  the  frisky  Spitz,  slunk  away  with  his 

*  Thou — the  German  method  of  addressing  intimates  and  inferiors. 

•  "Honored  madam.'' 


32  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

tail  between  his  legs  and  nestled  at  Heinz'  side,  who  him- 
self stood  as  if  rooted  to  the  spot,  while  his  anxious  eyes 
were  frequently  directed  toward  me.  Ach,  Use — where 
was  she — the  only  one  who  had  any  influence  over  my 
grandmother?  Was  it  possible  she  didn't  hear  the  noise 
that  was  echoing  so  strangely  through  the  Dierkhof's 
ancient  halls? 

Thus  the  ringing  and  jumping  of  the  money  went  on. 
The  old  lady  appeared  to  have  forgotten  that  two  people 
were  witnesses  to  her  exploits.  She  ran  hither  and 
thither  ever  more  and  more  excitedly,  whispering  and 
gesticulating  to  something  invisible.  Suddenly  she  gave 
a  violent  start  and  advanced  toward  the  table  as  if  petri- 
fied. There  she  paused  for  a  long  time,  taking  a  sidelong 
glance  at  it;  there  lay  the  unfortunate  letter  which, 
according  to  my  father's  express  desire,  she  was  never  to 
see. 

"To  Frau  Rathin  von  Sassen,"  she  said,  at  last  break- 
ing the  death -like  stillness  and  passing  her  hand  over  her 
forehead  with  a  deep  sigh.  "JFrau  Eathin  von  Sassen. 
I  was  that— I " 

I  debated  with  myself  as  to  whether  I  should  spring  for- 
ward and  take  the  letter  from  her,  upon  which  she  was 
just  about  to  lay  her  hand.  But  what  was  I,  a  poor  weak 
creature,  in  comparison  with  that  great  powerful  woman? 
Doubtless  she  would  have  spurned  me  away  and  made 
herself  mistress  of  the  paper.  I  made  every  possible  sign 
to  Heinz,  but  he  looked  quite  blankly  at  me  and  the 
dreaded  moment  came.  My  grandmother  drew  the  letter 
out  of  its  cover. 

''Let  us  see,"  she  said  while  she  unfolded  it  slowly. 
She  read  nothing — her  eye  but  fell  upon  the  signature. 
What  kind  of  a  name  could  it  have  been  to  produce 
such  an  effect  ?  With  one  wild  shriek  the  old  lady 
crumpled  the  letter  up  in  her  fingers.  "Thy  Christine," 
she  cried,  and  throwing  the  shapeless  bundle  of  paper  on 
the  floor  she  fled  back  to  her  room  with  a  gesture  of  avoid- 
ance, and  immediately  after  the  bolt  within  was  drawn. 

Use,  who  was  just  coming  in  with  a  basket  of  turf, 
stopped  on  the  threshold  in  amazement. 

"Wasn't  that  grandmother?"  she  inquired  in  a  terrified 
tone.  The  door  which  had  just  closed  was  one  never  used, 
and  lock  and  bolt  must  have  rusted  long  ago. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  T&E  MOOR.  33 

My  teeth  were  chattering  as  if  I  had  had  a  fever,  but 
Use's  presence  reassured  me  at  once,  and  I  began  whisper- 
ing to  her  breathlessly  an  account  of  the  whole  scone.  I 
noticed  how  she  started  and  colored,  but  Use  was  Use  still, 
and  never  uttering  a  word  she  laid  her  basket  beside  the 
fire-place  and  began  to  take  out  the  turf  and  pile  it  up 
symmetrically.  But  when  Heinz  came  in  she  raised  her 
head.  His  respect  for  her  sharp  eyes  was  well  founded, 
for  she  fixed  them  with  an  annihilating  glance  on  his  ter- 
rified face. 

"You  are  a  murderer,  Heinz,"  she  said.  "For  years  I 
have  watched  that  not  even  a  penny  should  ever  be  seen 
at  the  Dierkhof,  and  now  what  a  hubbub  these  charming 
pieces  have  raised." 

Tears  sprang  to  my  eyes.  In  spite  of  my  faithful  and 
minute  description,  my  candid  confession  of  my  own 
error,  Heinz  got  all  the  blame  and  bore  it  without  one 
word  of  complaint  or  retaliation.  I  threw  my  arms  round 
him  and  hid  my  face  in  the  sleeve  of  his  old  coat. 

"Yes,  comfort  him,  your  Heinz!"  said  Use.  "You 
stick  to  each  other  like  burs."  But  the  sharpness  had 
already  vanished  from  her  look  and  tone. 

She  took  up  the  lamp  and  began  to  search  about  for 
the  paper,  but  search  as  she  would  she  could  not  find  it. 

Hitherto  I  had  never  heard  a  sound  proceed  from  my 
grandmother's  apartments,  and  I  had  always  instinctively 
avoided  it;  but  now  loud  sobs  and  deep  sighs  from  a  rough 
and  passionately  excited  voice  issued  through  the  cur- 
tained window. 

"She  is  praying,"  whispered  Heinz  to  me.  But  it  was 
not  on  her  knees,  for  she  paced  up  and  down  with  such 
violence  that  the  window  curtain  was  swayed  by  it  and  the 
floor  trembled  beneath  our  feet. 

"Bring  a  light,"  sh3  called  out  suddenly. 

"A  light,"  replied  Use.  "I  have  taken  the  lamp  in 
already,"  and  she  ran  toward  the  narrow  passage  which 
led  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  sitting-room  and  which 
looked  out  on  the  garden  where  the  hall  door  was. 

Not  long  after  she  came  back,  evidently  calmer.  But 
almost  at  the  same  moment  the  pump-handle  began  to 
work,  and  the  sound  of  the  water  as  it  poured  into  the 
trough  became  audible. 

"There  waa  a  cloud  over  her  eyes,"  Use  replied  in 


34  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

answer  to  my  anxious  inquiries.  "We  shall  have  another 
night  of  it,"  she  muttered  to  herself,  while  she  removed 
the  litter  from  the  dining-table  and  carried  back  the  box 
of  letters  to  the  next  room. 

£j,  then,  she  often  passed  bad  nights  with  my  grand- 
mother. That  was  an  unpleasant  discovery  to  me,  for  my 
own  healthful,  happy  sleep  had  prevented  my  ever  guess- 
ing that  anything  could  be  going  on  in  the  house  at  night. 
Suddenly  I  remembered  how  often  I  had  found  Use  worn 
out  and  exhausted  in  the  mornings,  but  her  headaches, 
from  which  she  suffered  severely,  were  always  supposed  to 
be  the  cause. 

I  folded  my  arms  on  the  table  and  laid  my  head  down 
on  them.  My  courage  had  so  utterly  failed  and  I  was  so 
frightened  that  I  felt  as  if  some  dire  calamity  would  fall 
upon  the  Dierkhof  during  the  night.  Mechanically  I 
listened  to  Heinz'  footsteps  as  he  once  more  made  the 
round  of  the  house.  No  doubt  he  wisely  avoided  the 
orchard,  for  though  the  pump-handle  was  quiet  just  then, 
my  grandmother  was  no  doubt  lingering  about.  Just  at 
the  spot  where  the  orchard  extended  into  the  moor  at  one 
angle  she  would  stand  for  hours  gazing  over  the  boundless 
expanse. 

"Goto  bed,  child;  you  are  tired,"  said  Use,  stroking 
my  hair. 

Up  to  this  moment,  despite  my  happy  freedom,  I  had 
been  the  idlest,  most  worthless  being  on  earth,  and  I  now 
suddenly  awoke  to  a  consciousness  of  it. 

"No,  I  am  not  going  to  sleep,"  I  replied,  endeavoring 
to  assume  a  determined  air.  "I  am  seventeen  to-day,  Use, 
and  I  am  not  going  to  be  sent  to  bed  while  grandmother  it 
so  hard  for  you  to  manage." 

I  had  jumped  up  and  was  standing  near  her. 

"So,"  she  answered  dryly,  looking  down  sideways  at  me. 
"That  was  all  I  wanted,  that  you  too  should  stand  in  my 
way.  Now  I  know  how  a  grown-up  woman  looks.  Her 
head  is  a  little  higher  than  the  dining-table  and  she  peeps 
into  the  outer  world  like  a  chicken  which  has  just  broken 
the  shell." 

"I  am  like  nothing  of  the  kind,  Use,"  I  answered 
rebelliously,  but  somewhat  taken  down  notwithstanding, 
for  she  never  exaggerated. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  what  else  you  want,"  she  con« 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  35 

tinned,  "so  absurd.  Grandmother  is  out  in  the  orchard 
and  in  another  hour  will  be  as  fast  asleep  as  any  of  us. 
One  thing,  however,  I  will  tell  you,  seeing  the  lamp  burn- 
ing too  long  in  the  hall  excites  her." 

Without  another  word  she  took  up  the  lamp  and  my  fit 
of  heroism  was  at  an  end,  for  I  had  seen  by  Use's  last 
speech  and  the  energetic  toss  of  her  head  that  I  dared  not 
make  any  further  reply. 

I  called  out  ''good-night"  to  Heinz,  who  was  just  lock- 
ing the  house  door,  and  dutifully  followed  Use  to  the 
corner  room,  where  we  both  slept. 


V. 

IT  was  hot  and  close  in  our  room.  Use  had  already 
closed  the  shutters,  and  had  she  possessed  curtains  doubt- 
less they  too  would  have  been  drawn. 

"Here,  you  giddy  thing,  are  your  new  shoes,"  said  she, 
pointing  under  the  chair  which  stood  by  my  bed.  "If  it 
had  not  been  for  Heinz  they  would  have  lain  out  all  night 
and  the  storm  would  have  swept  them  into  the  river." 

I  felt  my  cheeks  flush  at  sight  of  the  unfortunate  hob- 
nailed pair,  and  just  at  the  same  moment,  too,  my  eyes  fell 
on  the  old  engraving  of  Charles  the  Great,  now  lighted 
by  the  lamp  in  its  position  on  the  wall.  The  portrait 
seemed  as  if  it  were  looking  at  me,  but  I  turned  my  back 
on  it  and  pushed  the  shoes  still  further  under  the  chair. 
(  wanted  never  to  see  them  again  or  to  be  reminded  of  the 
Grangers  whose  appearance  had  brought  with  them  such 
i  train  of  annoyances  and  painful  sensations  into  my 
oitherto  solitary,  simple  life. 

Use  did  not  leave  the  room  till  she  saw  me  in  bed.  But 
with  a  heart  full  of  anxious  forebodings  even  youth  can- 
not rest,  so  I  slipped  on  my  clothes  again,  and  taking  down 
the  shutter  from  the  west  window,  which  overlooked  the 
orchard,  I  sat  down  on  the  foot  of  my  bed  close  to  it.  The 
thick  darkness  in  my  room  lightened  and  I  grew  more 
tranquil;  at  all  events  the  fear  of  specters,  which  had 
haunted  me,  was  dispelled. 

Noiselessly  I  raided  the  Avindow.  A  low  monntain-ash 
which  grew  near  the  wall,  beneath  whose  shelter,  to  the 


36  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

delight  of  the  birds,  it  annually  bore  luxuriantly  red 
berries,  now  swept  with  its  boughs  the  panes  of  vaj  win- 
dow. Under  cover  of  this  green  shade  I  could  sit  un- 
noticed and  overlook  the  meadow  and  garden  in  the  faint 
light.  Use  had  spoken  earlier  in  the  evening  of  a  terrific 
storm,  but  I  had  never  seen  the  starry  heavens  more  cloud- 
less in  their  beauty  as  they  spanned  the  wide  moor.  The 
delicious  warm  night  air  played  around  me  Avith  scarce  a 
breath;  not  a  leaf  stirred  to  break  the  death-like  stillness 
which  possessed  all  the  time  a  latent  life  for  me;  no 
longer,  indeed,  in  the  spectral  tread  of  gigantic  steeds, 
which  bore  the  gray  hill  king  and  his  followers  through 
the  land — that  purple-and-gold  dream  had  been  finally 
dispelled  by  the  unmerciful  ax  this  morning — but  I  knew 
that  in  every  little  twig  of  heather  millions  upon  millions 
of  tender  blossoms  were  preparing  to  burst  before  long 
into  the  golden  sunlight,  to  have  their  pallid  hues  deep- 
ened into  purple  by  its  rays.  This  very  day,  too,  I  had 
been  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  tallest  of  the  oak  trees,  and 
there  in  the  old  magpie's  nest  I  had  counted  four  eggs; 
life  was  stirring  warm  within  there  also,  and  took  no  heed 
in  its  busy  growth  when  it  was  day  or  when  it  was  night 
till  the  tiny  bill  pecked  at  the  shell  and  demanded  light 
and  space  for  two  little  eyes.  I  knew,  too,  that  far  away 
from  the  distant  borders  of  the  wood  the  deer  were  ap- 
proaching with  silent  footsteps,  coming  to  taste  the  fra- 
grance of  the  haide  air,  whose  meadow  and  herbage  scents 
perfumed  the  Dierkhof  too. 

My  pulses  had  become  gradually  calmer.  Unconsciously 
I  had  fallen  back  into  the  smooth,  peaceful  mode  of 
thought  habitual  to  me  and  had  again  resumed  the  inter- 
ests which  hitherto  had  fully  sufficed  to  fill  up  my  simple 
life. 

Within  the  house  all  was  so  quiet  that  I  could  have 
heard  the  clank  of  Mieke's  chain  against  the  wall.  Use's 
assurance  had  been  well  founded,  and  she  might  at  any 
moment  return  lamp  in  hand.  Hi,  how  quicky  I  was  on 
my  feet  at  the  thought!  In  two  minutes  more  I  should 
undoubtedly  have  been  hopelessly  ingulfed  in  the  enormous 
feather-bed  had  not  the  banging  of  a  distant  door  set 
every  post  arid  pilar  in  the  Dierkhof  shaking. 

I  was  in  the  very  act  of  shutting  the  window,  when, 
just  under  it,  appeared  my  grandmother's  gray  head,  coin- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  37 

ing  ronnd  the  corner,  and  passed  in  a  fearful  proximity 
to  mine. 

"It  is  burning,  here — here!"  she  groaned,  rushing  past, 
holding  both  hands  pressed  to  her  head. 

I  did  not  hesitate  to  bend  out  and  look  after  her,  but 
heard  her  stop  almost  immediately,  and  her  wide  out- 
stretched arms  came  within  reach  of  my  view. 

"Then  it  was  my  anger  kindled  it,"  she  went  on,  in 
a  louder  voice  of  solemn  pathos;  "and  it  will  rage  to  the 
lowest  hell,  and  will  consume  the  land  in  its  growth,  and 
set  the  very  foundations  of  the  hills  on  fire!" 

Slowly  she  took  her  way  through  the  oaks  to  the 
orchard  nook.  The  spot  was  not  far  distant,  and  I  could 
see  her  plainly,  though  the  sky  with  its  streaks  of  gold 
formed  the  only  background  for  the  outlines  of  her  power- 
ful form.  She  had  thrown  off  her  dress,  the  long  sleeves 
of  her  chemise  hung  from  her  shoulders,  and  the  tangled 
mass  of  her  gray  hair  fell  down  her  back. 

What  she  said  there,  addressing  herself  to  the  silent, 
noiseless  haide,  I  knew  not.  It  seemed  to  me  as  though 
all  the  curious  words  used  by  the  professor  were  here 
brought  into  compass  and  flowed  like  a  stream  in  a  pecul- 
iar singing  rhyme.  Suddenly  the  murmur  broke  into  a 
half-smothered  cry.  My  grandmother  turned  swiftly 
round,  and  the  restless  feet  recommenced  their  wandering 
with  double  rapidity.  I  thought  she  was  making  for  the 
well,  when  all  at  once  she  came  against  an  oak,  staggered 
back,  took  one  more  run,  and  then  sank  helplessly  down, 
suddenly  and  completely,  as  though  overcome  by  invisible 
hands. 

"Use!  Use!"  I  screamed  aloud.  But  she  was  there 
already,  endeavoring  with  Heinz'  aid  to  raise  the  fallen 
one.  Both  had  no  doubt  been  watching  my  grandmother 
from  the  orchard  gate.  I  sprang  out  of  the  window. 

"She  is  dead,"  whispered  Heinz  as  I  approached  him, 
and  he  dejectedly  let  the  lifeless  form  sink,  the  weight  of 
which  must  indeed  have  been  formidable. 

"Be  quiet !"  commanded  Use  in  a  choking  voice.  "Up, 
use  your  strength — forward!"  And  taking  my  grand- 
mother under  the  arms,  she  raised  her  from  the  ground 
with  superhuman  strength,  while  Heinz  supported  her 
feet. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  sight  they  presented  as  they 


38  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

stepped  panting  across  the  hall,  the  unconscious  one's 
gray  hair  sweeping  the  flags,  upon  which,  scarce  an  hour 
earlier,  the  money  had  been  flying  about  beneath  -her 
powerful  tread. 

I  ran  before  to  open  ray  grandmother's  door,  but  was 
obliged  first  of  all  to  push  aside  a  folding  screen  which 
protected  the  entrance,  and  by  which  it  was  thoroughly 
sheltered  from  the  profane  gaze  of  the  passer-by.  I  had 
never  been  allowed  near  this  room,  not  even  as  a  little 
child;  and  notwithstanding  all  my  mental  anxiety  and 
fright,  it  seemed  to  me  at  that  moment  as  if  I  had  a  peep 
into  a  new  world,  though  a  very  gloomy  one.  Never  but 
once  did  I  receive  a  similar  impression.  It  was  upon  en- 
tering an  ancient,  dismal  church  decked  with  faded  gran- 
deur, hung  with  pictures  of  martyrs,  and  filled  with  that 
indescribable  mixture  of  cold  exhausted  air  and  stifling 
incense  perfume. 

My  grandmother  was  laid  on  a  bed  which  stood  in  one 
corner;  it  had  curtains,  old-fashioned  green  silk  curtains 
embroidered  with  delicate  flowers  in  gold.  How  they 
rustled  as  they  were  drawn  back,  and  how  awful  was  the 
effect  produced  by  the  blue  face  with  closed  eyes  as  it  lay 
under  the  harsh  dark  green! 

Heinz  was  mistaken — my  grandmother  was  not  dead, 
but  lay  there  breathing  with  difficulty.  She  did  not  move, 
but  as  Use  addressed  her  in  tones  of  soft  entreaty,  such 
as  I  had  never  heard  from  her,  and  as  she  pronounced  her 
name,  my  grandmother  raised  her  eyelids  for  one  moment 
and  looked  conscious.  Use  put  bolster  and  pillows  at  her 
back,  thus  putting  her  in  a  sitting  posture,  which  seemed 
to  relieve  her,  and  by  degrees  the  low  strange  noise  she 
made  in  breathing  decreased. 

During  this  time  Heinz  had  already  gone  in  search  of 
a  doctor.  For  this  purpose  he  had  to  run  to  the  next 
village,  and  from  thence  dispatch  a  carriage  to  a  place 
another  two  miles  distant  to  bring  the  doctor,  so  that 
three  or  four  hours  might  elapse  before  medical  aid  could 
arrive. 

My  attempt  to  assist  Use  was  rejected.  She  drew  my 
hands  back,  with  an  anxious  glance  at  the  sufferer,  but 
gave  me  permission  to  remain. 

I  curled  myself  up  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  on  a  little 
bench,  half -hidden  by  the  curtains,  and  there  gazed  about 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  39 

the  strange  apartment,  half-dazed.  It  was  the  largest  in 
the  house  and  like  a  saloon  in  breadth.  My  grandmother 
had  very  probably  removed  one  of  the  partition  walls  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  this  unusual  degree  of  space. 
The  walls  were  hung  with  tapestry  embroidered  with 
huge  figures.  One  especially  attracted  my  attention.  It 
was  a  child's  form,  of  life  size  and  with  a  lovely  face  full 
of  melancholy  and  gentle  patience — it  was  the  young  Isaac 
as  he  lay  bound  upon  the  altar.  The  tapestry  was  very 
ancient  and  partially  moth-eaten,  so  that  Abraham's  tall, 
commanding  figure  wanted  one  eye  and  that  arm  which 
was  raised  aloft  ready  to  accomplish  the  awful  sacrifice. 
Along  the  wall  were  ranged,  with  stiff  precision,  rows  of 
high-backed  chairs  covered  in  blue-flowered  velvet  and 
looking  much  like  a  collection  of  sullen  old  graybeards. 
Later  I  learned  to  value  these  as  all  carved  out  of  the 
finest  wood  and  of  great  value;  but  at  that  time  I  saw 
nothing  in  them  beyond  terrific-looking  heads  of  fabulous 
beasts  staring  at  me  from  every  nook  and  corner. 

The  dark  coloring  and  still  darker  corners  of  the  room 
were  thrown  out  into  even  stronger  relief  by  the  two 
lamps  which  burned  brightly  on  the  table,  thus  "making 
darkness  visible."  Dark  was  the  carpet  beneath  my  feet 
and  almost  black  the  low,  oppressive  ceiling,  and  nothing 
relieved  this  universal  gloom  save  an  occasional  gleam  of 
light  from  the  naked  flesh  of  the  tapestry  figures,  which 
age  had  blanched  to  whiteness,  and  one  solitary  spot  where 
a  soft  radiance  shone  as  though  the  white  dove  of  peace 
were  hovering  near — this  came  from  a  silver  luster  filled 
with  wax  candles  and  suspended  from  the  ceiling. 

As  the  anxious  hours  passed  by,  which  I  spent  near  the 
bed,  the  sufferer  seemed  to  get  better.  She  looked  about 
her,  drank  some  fresh  water,  and  her  speech  suddenly 
returned. 

"What  has  happened  tome?"  she  inquired  in  an  altered 
voice. 

Use  bent  over  her  without  replying — I  believe  grief 
robbed  her  of  her  voice — and  stroked  her  hair  and  fore- 
head tenderly. 

"My  good  old  Use!"  she  murmured,  making  an  effort 
to  raise  herself;  but  it  was  in  vain,  and  her  eye  fell  with  a 
slow  inquiring  gaze  upon  her  left  arm. 

"Dead!"  she  half-sighed,  letting  her  head  fall  back 
upon  the  pillow* 


40  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

This  exclamation  went  through  me  with  a  cold  shudder, 
and  involuntarily  I  gave  a  start  which  made  the  sofa 
cushion  slip  and  shake  the  curtain. 

"Who  is  in  the  room?"  inquired  my  grandmother, 
listening. 

"The  child,  gnadige  Frau — Lenore,"  replied  Use,  hesi- 
tating. 

I  "Willibald's  child — I  know  her.  She  runs  about  the 
moor  with  her  feet  bare  and  sings  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
yonder.  I  cannot  listen  to  singing,  Use." 

Full  well  did  I  know  that.  Never  had  I  dared  to  utter 
a  note  at  the  Dierkhof — and  yet  I  loved  to  sing!  My  soul 
seemed  to  me  to  soar  away  into  the  far  distance  upon  the 
tones  that  issued  from  my  heart.  So  I  sang  in  Heinz' 
little  cabin  till  the  small  windows  shook,  or  else  on  the 
hill-top,  but  I  little  fancied  that  my  grandmother  could 
hear  that  at  the  Dierkhof. 

I  had  risen  and  approached  near,  trembling  as  I  did  so. 

"Small,  like  her  mother,"  she  said  to  herself,  "and  the 
same  large  eyes  and  cold,  narrow  heart " 

"No,  grandmother,"  I  said  gently,  "my  heart  is  not 
cold!" 

My  grandmother  looked  at  me  in  as  much  surprise  as 
though  till  then  she  fancied  my  small  self  were  quite  in- 
capable of  speaking,  still  less  of  addressing  her.  Use 
drew  back  behind  the  curtain  and  signed  to  me  to  be 
silent.  No  doubt  she  feared  that  my  unexpected  appear- 
ance might  give  rise  to  fresh  excitement  on  the  part  of 
the  invalid.  But  my  grandmother  remained  quite  calm, 
her  eyes  fixed  on  my  face.  These  eyes,  of  which  I  had 
always  stood  in  such  awe,  were  very  beautiful.  There 
was  indeed  an  uneasy  gloomy  expression  in  them,  but  yet 
in  their  depths  lay  soul  and  depth  of  thought. 

She  at  last  broke  the  silence  by  saying  "Come  to  me!" 

I  went  up  to  the  bed. 

"Do  you  know  what  it  means  to  love  a  person?"  she 
asked  me,  her  ordinarily  cracked  and  toneless  voice  tak- 
ing a  sudden  depth  of  tone. 

"Yes,  grandmother,  I  do.  I  love  Use  so  much — I  can- 
not say  how  much,  and  Heinz  too." 

Her  lips  quivered  slightly,  and  with  an  immense  effort 
she  stretched  out  her  right  hand  to  me  as  it  lay  on  the 
quilt 


THE  PRINCHSS  OF  THE  MOOR.  41 

"Are  you  afraid  of  ine?"  she  asked. 

"No" — not  any  longer  I  was  about  to  add,  but  I  swal- 
lowed the  last  words  and  bent  over  her. 

"Then  give  me  your  hand  and  kiss  me  on  the  forehead." 

I  did  as  she  desired,  and,  strange  to  say,  as  my  lips 
touched  the  dreaded  face  and  I  felt  my  hand  gently 
clasped  in  the  great  cold  fingers  a  new  and  blissful  sensa- 
tion stole  over  me.  I  felt  myself  in  my  own  place;  the 
mysterious  bond  of  blood-relationship  between  grand- 
mother and  grandchild  made  itself  felt,  and  overcome 
with  this  sudden  discovery  I  sat  down  on  the  bedside  and 
slipped  my  arm  gently  under  her  head. 

"Flesh  of  my  flesh  and  blood  of  my  blood,"  she  softly 
murmured,  gently  closing  her  eyes. 

All  this  time  Ilse  stood  behind  the  curtain,  weeping 
bitterly. 

A  death-like  silence  once  more  reigned  around,  broken 
only  by  the  low  groaning  and  irregular  breathing  of  the 
sufferer  and  by  the  incessant  ticking  of  the  old  clock  in 
its  high  wooden  case.  Its  large,  shining  dial-plate  stared 
at  me  like  a  specter,  and  the  swing  of  the  pendulum,  in 
its  regular  rise  and  fall,  seemed  to  iny  excited  fancy  like 
the  heaving  of  an  invalid's  breast. 

Thus  passed  a  long  and  anxious  period.  It  was  on  the 
stroke  of  one  o'clock.  At  that  moment  Heinz  opened  the 
outer  door  and  entered,  accompanied  by  another  person; 
so  then,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  he  had  brought  the 
doctor  with  him. 

Ilse  looked  relieved  and  signed  to  me  to  make  room  at 
the  bedside.  I  drew  my  arm,  therefore,  gently  away,  and 
let  the  invalid's  head  fall  softly  back  on  the  pillow.  She 
appeared  to  sleep  on  and  gave  no  sign  of  having  heard  the 
hall  door  open  and  the  men  come  in. 

Suddenly  the  old  clergyman  from  the  nearest  village 
made  his  appearance  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  dressed 
in  full  canonicals,  while  Heinz  remained  standing  respect- 
fully in  the  background,  hat  in  hand.  The  old  man's 
venerable  form  dressed  in  black,  and  prayer-book  in  hand, 
was  a  solemn  and  a  touching  sight.  Ilse,  however,  started 
forward  as  though  she  had  seen  a  ghost  and  beckoned  him 
back,  but  too  late.  At  the  same  moment  my  grand- 
mother, as  though  conscious  of  the.  intruder's  gaze,  opened 
her  eyes. 


42  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  VOOR. 

I  shrank  back,  terrified  at  the  sudden  alteration  her 
features  underwent,  smooth  and  peaceful  as  they  had  so 
lately  been. 

"What  does  the  black-coat  want?"  she  groaned. 

"To  bring  you  comfort  if  you  need  it,"  replied  the 
mild  old  man,  without  noticing  her  rude  speech. 

"Comfort?  I  have  found  it  already  in  an  innocent 
child's  heart,  in  the  love  that  she  gives,  without  inquir- 
ing. What  is  your  belief  or  what  will  you  give  me  in  re- 
turn? Lenore,  my  child,  where  are  you?" 

My  heart  trembled  at  those  longing  tones,  and  I  stepped 
hastily  to  the  head  of  the  bed,  that  she  might  be  able  to 
see  me. 

"You  cannot  bring  me  comfort,"  she  continued;  "you 
who  have  driven  me  out  into  the  wilderness  where  the 
sun  scorched  my  very  brain.  Not  one  drop  of  healing 
balm  did  you  offer  me  on  that  dreary  path  which,  accord- 
ing to  what  you  preach,  will  now  end  in  hell!  Ye  in- 
tolerants,  ye  boast  of  walking  humbly  before  God,  yet  all 
the  while  keep  the  stone  ready  to  fling  at  your  neighbor, 
and  presume  to  pass  sentence  over  the  very  grave  of  the 
departed,  who  is  already,  at  that  very  moment  probably, 
standing  before  his  Judge!  Ye  false  prophets,  ye  boast 
of  praying  to  the  God  of  boundless  mercy  and  of  goodness, 
and  yet  account  him  as  the  author  of  murderous  battles; 
a  stern  and  jealous  God,  as  do  the  Hebrews,  whom  ye  style 
the  accursed!  Highly  do  you  honor  him,  and  yet  make 
him  partaker  of  your  human  infirmities,  your  revenge, 

?mr  love  of  despotism,  your  cold  and  heartless  barbarity, 
our  Mediator  put  the  olive-branch  in  your  hand,  but  you 
have  turned  it  into  a  rod." 

The  pastor  raised  his  hand  as  if  to  interrupt  her,  but 
she  continued  with  unabated  vehemence. 

"And  with  this  rod  you  have  stricken  me  and  driven 
me  out  of  your  paradise  by  declaring  that  my  fhther,  the 
Jew,  who  gave  me  life,  and  the  Jewess  mother  that  bore 
me,  are  both  accursed  to  all  eternity.  Man,  my  father 
was  one  of  the  wisest  of  human  beings.  He  had  collected 
and  stored  up  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  knowledge — and 
that  is  all  to  be  lost  in  hell,  and  the  narrow-minded,  who 
never  thought,  but  only  believed,  will  reach  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  with  out  difficulty,  thoughthere  the  highest  req- 
uisites are  truth  and  light.  And  my  father,"  she  con- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOH.  43 

tinned,  "he  gave  his  bread  to  the  hungry  and  let  not  his 
left  hand  know  what  his  right  did.  He  hated  the  sins  of 
lying,  covetousness,  and  pride;  forgave  his  enemies  and 
never  sought  to  revenge  himself  for  what  was  done  to  him. 
He  loved  the  Lord  his  God  with  all  his  heart,  with  all  his 
soul,  and  with  all  his  mind,  and  yet  must  be  condemned 
to  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched  for  evermore  because 
water  was  never  poured  on  his  head.  Well,  well,  I  will 
go  there  too.  Where  he  is,  there  will  I  be  also.  Take 
back  your  baptism!  keep  your  heaven!  You  sell  it  too 
dearly,  you  tyrants  in  black  coats!" 

With  the  deepest  pity  written  on  his  face  the  aged  man 
stepped  nearer,  but  no  propitiation  was  possible  there. 

"Leave  me — I  am  prepared,"  she  said  sharply  and 
turned  her  face  to  the  wall. 


VI. 

THE  clergyman  left  the  room  as  noiselessly  as  he  had 
entered  it.  I  followed  him  involuntarily,  for  convinced 
as  I  felt  that  some  great  wrong  had  at  one  period  been 
done  to  my  grandmother,  I  felt  none  the  less  deeply 
grieved  for  the  old  man  whose  hand  had  been  laid  in  bless- 
ing upon  my  head  in  church.  He  was  gentle  and  kind 
and  did  not  belong  to  those  who  had  driven  the  unhappy 
daughter  of  the  Jews  to  madness.  He  had  come  willingly 
and  without  a  murmur  at  the  dead  of  night,  the  dear  old 
man,  to  bring  Christian  comfort  to  a  sufferer. 

"Pastor,"  said  Use  in  the  passage  outside,  "you  will 
not  reckon  this  against  her.  She  allowed  herself  to  be 
baptized,  and  he  who  did  it  was  good  and  Christian-like 
as  you  are,  and  she  held  fast  to  Christ.  But  then  came 
one — he  will  have  to  answer  for  it.  He  was  over-zealous 
and  was  too  familiar  with  the  words  'cursing'  and  'dam- 
nation.' Yes,  he  said,  all  the  deep  misfortunes  of  the 
family  were  so  many  tokens  of  the  wrath  and  punishment 
of  God ;  and  so  at  last  this  robbed  her  of  her  reason.  Oh, 
may  he  have  to  answer  for  it!"  , 

"I  do  not  judge  her,"  said  the  old  man^mildly.  "Too 
well  I  know  how  much  precious  fruit  has  been  lost  thus 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard  through  this  mistaken  zeal.  The 


44  THE  PEINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

lady  has  suffered  much.  God  will  be  merciful.  I  am 
only  sorry  I  cannot  give  any  comfort  where  I  would  have 
done  so  with  all  my  heart;  but  it  is  contrary  to  my  habit 
to  rush  in  with  the  unsolicited  aid  of  the  Church  to  a  soul 
struggling  in  the  bitter  pangs  of  death  and  hell.  Go  in  to 
her,"  he  added,  stroking  my  hair  kindly;  "she  will  miss 
you.  Would  I  could  put  into  your  young  mouth  all  the 
comforting  words  of  faith  which  would  bring  peace  to  her 
troubled  soul!" 

I  returned  to  the  sick-chamber,  while  he,  after  drinking 
a  glass  of  water,  left  the  Dierkhpf  without  waiting  to  rest. 

I  heard  my  grandmother,  while  I  was  still  outside,  re- 
peatedly asking,  "Where  is  the  child?" 

"Here  I  am,  grandmother,"  I  replied,  flying  toward  the 
bed.  She  was  quite  alone;  Heinz,  whom  we  had  left  with 
her,  having  gone  away,  probably  because  having  taken 
upon  himself  to  bring  the  clergyman  he  was  now  afraid  of 
Ilse's  wrath. 

"Ah,  there  you  are,  my  little  brown  dove,"  said  she 
tenderly,  and  sighing,  as  if  relieved.  "I  thought  you  too 
would  now  have  left  me  and  gone  off  with  him  in  hatred 
and  contempt." 

"You  ought  not  to  have  thought  so,  grandmother,"  I 
exclaimed  eagerly.  "He  sent  me  back  to  you  and  is  inex- 
pressibly kind.  As  for  me,  I  don't  know  the  meaning  of 
hatred  and  contempt." 

"That  means  you  love  everybody,"  she  said,  smiling 
faintly. 

"On,  yes;  I  have  told  you  that  already — Use  and  Heinz, 
Spitz  and  Mieke,  the  good  old  pine  on  the  hill  yonder  and 
the  blue  sky  above " 

Suddenly  I  stopped,  ashamed  of  myself.  What  I  said 
was  untrue;  this  complete,  perfect  love  for  all  the  world 
was  mine  no  more!  This  very  day  I  had  been  a  wrathful, 
unseemly  creature — should  I  say  so? 

I  was  again  seated  on  the  bedside  and  she  held  my  hand 
in  hers;  the  fingers  grasped  it  as  though  they  would  never 
unloose  it  again — and  in  this  position  she  gradually  sank 
to  sleep.  But  now  she  had  spoken  with  so  much  energy 
and  life,  and  I  was  so  utterly  inexperienced  in  sickness,  that 
her  appearance  never  once  suggested  the  idea  of  exhaus- 
tion to  me.  Happening,  however,  to  lay  my  other  hand 
caressingly  on  her  wrist,  where  I  knew  the  pulse  ought 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  45 

to  beat  regularly  and  without  pause,  I  was  filled  with  the 
deepest  alarm  as  it  gradually  dawned  upon  me  that  the 
hand  was  become  colder  and  the  pulse  fainter,  so  that  but 
an  occasional  throb  at  distant  intervals  was  all  I  felt  under 
my  fingers. 

"We  are  like  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter,"  she  sud- 
denly murmured.  "What  are  we,  our  life  and  all  our 
glory?  But  Thou  art  our  Father,"  she  groaned  aloud, 
"and  we  are  thy  children.  Have  pity  on  us  as  a  father 
upon  his  children." 

She  was  silent  again,  but  an  inexpressible  anxiety  seized 
me,  and  I  would  have  given  the  world  to  see  her  eyes 
open  once  more.  I  pressed  my  lips  to  her  forehead  very 
gently.  She  started  up,  but  looked  tenderly  and  lovingly 
at  me. 

"Go  and  call  Use,"  she  said  feebly. 

I  sprang  up,  and  at  that  moment,  to  my  extreme  relief, 
a  carriage  rattled  over  the  stone  pavement  of  the  yard. 
A  few  minutes  afterward  Use  entered  with  the  doctor. 

"The  doctor  is  here,  gnadige  Frau,"  she  said,  conduct- 
ing him  to  the  side  of  the  bed. 

My  grandmother's  face  once  more  resumed  that  firm 
strained  expression,  and  she  offered  the  doctor  her  right 
arm  that  he  might  feel  her  pulse,  while  she  watched  him 
all  the  time  keenly. 

"How  long  do  you  give  me?"  she  inquired  in  an  abrupt, 
decided  tone  of  voice. 

He  was  silent  a  moment  and  endeavored  to  avoid  her 
eye. 

"We  will  make  an  effort "  said  he,  hesitating. 

"No,  no,"  she  interrupted,  "don't  give  yourself  that 
trouble.  That  is  already  dust!"  and  with  a  shadowy 
smile  she  glanced  at  her  left  side.  "How  long  do  you 
give  me?"  she  repeated  in  a  sharp  tone  of  unmistakable 
energy. 

"Well — an  hour  at  the  most." 

The  tears  started  to  my  eyes,  and  Use  fled  to  a  window, 
pressing  her  face  against  the  panes.  My  grandmother 
alone  remained  tranquil.  Her  eyes  were  directed  toward 
the  silver  luster  in  the  ceiling. 

"Light  the  candles,  Use,"  she  desired,  and  while  her 
orders  were  obeyed  she  turned  to  the  doctor. 

"I  thank  you  for  coming,"  she  said,  "and  wish  to  make 


46  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

one  more  request  of  yon.  Will  you  hare  the  kindness  to 
put  your  signature  to  what  I  shall  dictate?" 

"With  all  my  heart,  madam,  but  in  case  you  refer  to 
your  last  will  and  testament,  let  me  remark  that  it  will 
not  stand  without  legal " 

"I  know  it,"  she  interrupted,  "but  there  is  no  time  for 
that.  My  son  must  and  will  be  contented  to  receive  my 
last  will  in  this  form." 

Use  accordingly  brought  writingm-aterials,  and  my 
grandmother  dictated  as  follows: 

"I  bequeath  to  Use  Wichel  the  Dierkhof  with  all  it 
contains — • — " 

"No,  no,"  exclaimed  Use.     "I  will  not  suffer  that." 

My  grandmother  cast  a  severe  and  reproving  glance  at 
her  and  continued  utterly  unmoved — "as  a  proof  of  grati- 
tude for  her  unbounded  devotion  and  self-sacrifice.  I 
further  bequeath  to  my  grandchild,  Lenore  von  Sassen, 
whatever  government  securities  I  possess,  and  forbid  any- 
body, no  matter  who  it  may  be,  to  raise  a  claim  to  such." 

Use  had  risen  and  was  looking  at  her  in  amazement. 
The  invalid  pointed  to  a  press.  "There  must  be  an  iron 
box  in  there,"  she  said.  "Take  it  out,  Use.  I  have 
entirely  forgotten  how  much  it  contains." 

Use  opened  the  press  and  laid  a  flat  iron  box  on  the 
table;  a  rusty  key  was  in  the  lock. 

"It  is  long,  long  since  I  opened  it,"  murmured  the 
sufferer,  raising  her  hand  to  her  head  wearily.  "All  has 
been  dark  to  me.  I  know  it.  What  year  is  it?" 

"The  year  1861,"  replied  the  doctor. 

"Ah,  then  much  of  what  is  there  may  have  become 
valueless,"  she  lamented  as  he  opened  the  box.  At  the 
invalid's  desire  he  counted  the  papers  which  filled  the 
box  to  the  brim. 

"Nine  thousand  thalers,"  *  he  announced. 

"Nine  thousand  thalers,"  repeated  my  grandmother  in 
a  satisfied  tone.  "That  will  be  sufficient  to  prevent  all 
want.  There  must  still  be  a  little  wooden  box  within  the 
other." 

Use  shook  her  head  over  this  sudden  mental  lucidity 
which  now  took  up  the  thread  so  long  snapped  asunder. 
The  doctor  took  out  a  tiny  wooden  box — it  contained  a 
string  of  pearls. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  47 

"The  last  remnant  of  tdie  Jacobsohns'  glory,"  she 
whispered  sadly  to  herself.  "Use,  lay  the  string  of  pearls 
round  the  little  brown  throat  yonder.  It  suits  your  face, 
my  child,"  she  said  to  me,  while  I  felt  a  shudder  pass 
through  me  at  the  cold,  smooth  touch.  "You  have  the 
eyes  of  your  mother,  but  the  features  of  the  Jacobsohns. 
That  necklace  has  witnessed  many  scenes  of  domestic 
happiness  and  peace,  but  it  has  also  shared  the  curse  of 
bigotry."  She  gasped  for  breath.  "I  will  sign  it  now," 
she  added,  after  an  exhausting  pause,  which  made  her 
anxious  to  conclude. 

The  doctor  laid  the  paper  on  the  bed  and  placed  the  pen 
in  the  stiffening  fingers.  Troublesome  beyond  description 
was  this  last  earthly  act,  but  the  name  Clothilde  von  Sas- 
sen,  born  Jacobsohn,  stood  at  the  end  of  the  document 
in  tolerably  firm,  clear  characters,  to  which  the  doctor 
added  a  few  words  as  witness. 

"Do  not  cry,  my  little  dove,"  she  said,  consoling  me, 
"but  come  to  me  once  again." 

I  threw  myself  on  the  bed,  unable  to  utter  a  word,  and 
kissed  her  hand.  She  charged  me  with  greetings  for  my 
father,  and  lifting  her  clouded  eyes  from  my  face,  she 
fixed  them  on  Use,  saying  markedly: 

"The  child  must  not  be  lost  in  the  lonely  haide." 

"No,  gniidige  Frau,  leave  that  to  me,"  said  Use  in  her 
usual  abrupt  manner,  though  her  lips  trembled  and  tears 
hung  on  her  eyelashes. 

Once  again  the  cold,  nerveless  hand  passed  caressingly 
round  my  neck,  then  suddenly  but  gently  my  grandmother 
pushed  me  away  and  looked  out  of  one  of  the  windows 
with  such  a  singular  expression  one  might  have  fancied 
her  soul  sought  to  wing  its  flight  already  into  the  great 
eternity. 

"Christine,  I  forgive!"  she  called  aloud  twice  into  the 
far  distance;  then  she  was  ready,  prepared.  Evidently 
tranquilized,  she  laid  her  head  back  on  the  pillow,  looked 
upward,  and  began  in  a  solemn,  fervent,  though  failing 
voice:  "Hear,  0  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  God. 

Blessed  be  the  name  of  His  Majesty "  The  voice 

sank  into  a  whisper  and  slowly  and  softly  she  laid  her  head 
on  one  side. 

"Forever  and  ever,  am«n!"  filled  up  the  physician  in 
the  place  of  those  lips  now  closed  for  evermore. 

\V  itli  tender  Uaucl  he  closed  her  cye». 


48  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


VII. 

I  WENT  out.  This  was  my  first  heavy  sorrow.  How 
petrified  I  felt  in  the  face  of  that  inexorable  "gone  for- 
ever" which  in  the  midst  of  life  seems  almost  inconceiv- 
able. 

I  had  attached  myself  to  my  newly  found  grandmother 
with  all  that  enthusiastic  tenderness  common  to  youth;  I 
had  tasted  of  that  exquisite  feeling  which  said  the  devo- 
tion of  my  young  heart  was  longed  for;  and  now  the 
thought  that  I  had  not  shown  my  grandmother  half  the 
love  I  really  bore  her  tormented  me.  I  had  meant  to 
have  assured  her  how  deeply  I  would  love  and  honor  her 
when  she  recovered,  but  instead  I  had  wasted  the  precious 
hours  in  talking  over  my  lore  for  all  the  world — my  love 
for  that  world  which  had  so  deeply  wounded  her  and  of 
which  she  doubtless  cared  least  to  hear — and  now  she  was 
dead  and  I  could  never  tell  her  all  this.  Too  late!  What 
utter  helplessness  lies  in  those  crushing  words! 

I  stepped  through  the  orchard  door  into  the  open  air. 
A  strong  wind,  still  laden  with  the  dews  of  night,  swept 
over  the  haide.  It  blew  the  great  white  cloud  away  which 
hung  over  the  bog  and  turned  it  to  a  lacy  curtain,  behind 
which  the  rising  sun  began  to  glow.  The  murmuring 
tree-tops  became  gilded  and  the  little  gable  window  of  the 
Dierkhof  began  to  glimmer. 

The  blades  of  grass  sparkled  in  the  morning  dew,  and 
those  on  which  my  grandmother  had  ruthlessly  trampled 
the  previous  night  were  all  erect  once  more.  The  win- 
dows where  she  lay,  and  which  I  had  never  before  seen 
more  than  ajar,  were  now  thrown  wide  open.  I  swung 
myself  up  on  the  window-sill  and  looked  in.  The  room 
was  empty.  The  curtains,  which  by  daylight  were  an 
emerald-green,  were  pushed  back,  and  let  the  air  play 
around  the  bed  and  around  the  troubled  face  which  for 
many  a  weary  year  had  not  worn  so  peaceful  and  calm  an 
expression. 

There  lay  the  powerful  form,  covered  with  a  white  cloth, 
and  only  recognizable  by  the  splendid  gray  plaits  which 
hung  over  the  bedside. 

A  fly  which  had  been  disturbed  came  buzzing  near  me, 
and  the  lights  still  flickered  in  the  luster:  these  were  the 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  49 

only  sounds  in  the  great,  huge  chamber;  even  the  clock 
stood  still. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  busy  outside  world  was  all  astir 
once  more;  the  hens  cackled,  Spitz  gamboled  among  the 
poultry,  and  Mieke  lowed  and  turned  to  the  hand  that 
milked  her.  The  cat  came  creeping  along  the  roof  and 
gazed  with  her  green  eyes  at  a  little  bird  which  was  perched 
carelessly  on  the  mountain-ash  bough.  I  leaned  forward 
and  drove  her  away.  Then  overhead,  on  the  roof,  the 
pair  of  storks  were  dressing  themselves  and  preparing  to 
go  forth  in  search  of  their  breakfast.  All  just  as  usual! 
In  front  of  the  house  alone  were  tokens  of  something  new 
and  terrible — a  horse  was  grazing  there,  and  the  doctor 
stood  with  folded  arms  looking  over  the  low  hedge  which 
inclosed  the  yard  at  the  haide,  now  one  sparkling  sheet 
of  dew  andgolden  sunshine. 

The  dusty  little  chaise  which  he  had  brought  with  him 
stood  unharnessed  at  the  door,  and  there  was  Use,  self- 
possessed  and  active  as  ever.  She  had  laid  the  table 
neatly;  cups  and  saucers  stood  on  the  white  cloth,  and 
she  was  preparing  coffee  for  the  doctor. 

I  went  up  to  her  greatly  excited. 

"Use,"  I  said,  "how  can  you  think  of  such  things  at 
such  a  time?" 

"Are  other  people  to  starve  because  I  am  unhappy?" 
she  inquired  reprovingly.  "You  have  seen  your  grand- 
mother die  this  night,  and  yet  have  failed  to  learn  that 
people  may  keep  their  heads  under  the  worst  of  circum- 
stances." 

Deeply  asltamed,  I  put  my  arms  round  her  neck,  for 
her  face,  which  was  only  then  fully  turned  toward  me, 
looked  quite  numbed  with  sorrow,  and  not  a  trace  of  color 
remained  in  her  cheek;  but  for  all  that  her  hands  were  as 
busy  as  ever  and  not  the  smallest  duty  was  overlooked. 

The  doctor  and  the  servant  who  had  driven  him  both 
came  in.  I  went  out  of  the  way  again  in  front  of  the 
house. 

The  Dierkhof  ducks  were  all  standing  at  the  lattice  door, 
their  bills  individually  directed  toward  the  haide  and  all 
longing  for  the  moment  when,  this  barrier  removed,  they 
could  make  a  rush  and  plunge  headlong  into  the  river. 
One  only  was  struggling  with  a  lump  of  white  paper— the 
very  letter  which  my  grandmother  had  flung  away  so 


50  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

unceremoniously  the  night  before  and  for  which  Use  had 
made  such  a  close  search.  It  had  swept  out  at  the  open 
door.  I  opened  the  gate  for  the  ducks  and  rescued  the 
wisp  of  paper  from  destruction;  it  was  in  a  bad  state;  the 
dirty  carriage  wheels  had  rolled  over  it  and  the  duck's 
bill  torn  it  nearly  to  rags. 

Seating  myself  on  the  bench  under  the  ash,  I  smoothed 
out  the  paper  on  my  knee  and  set  about  piecing  the  torn 
fragments  together.  Much  was  wanting,  and  in  addition 
the  handwriting  was  very  hurried.  With  great  trouble  I 
succeeded  in  deciphering  the  following  passages: 

"I  have  never  burdened  you  because  I  considered  it  as 
a  point  of  honor  to  go  my  own  chosen  road  independently. 
'The  lost  one'  has  done  everything  to  prevent  a  shadow 
from  her  career  from  falling  on  you.  My  own  name  has 
never  once  crossed  my  lips  in  speaking  to  others,  neither 
have  I  ever  made  the  smallest  inquiry  about  you  or  my 
former  home  such  as  could  give  rise  to  a  suspicion  that  I 
was  connected  with  the  Sassens.  It  would  not  have  dis- 
graced them,  indeed,  for,  think  as  you  will,  I  still  repeat 
with  pride  that  I  have  been  called  the  wonder,  the  star  of 
the  age."  Here  a  piece  of  the  paper  was  torn  away,  but 
on  the  other  side  of  the  sheet  stood,  ''But  a  heavy  mis- 
fortune has  fallen  upon  me.  Where  shall  I  turn  if  not  to 
you?  I  have  lost  my  voice,  my  precious  voice.  The  doc- 
tors say  that  one  of  the  German  baths  might  restore  it; 
but  here  I  am  empty-handed;  through  the  dishonesty  of 
others  my  fortune-  has  been  lost  to  the  last  farthing.  On 
my  knees  I  entreat  you — you  who  are  surrounded  by  com- 
fort, who  have  never  known  want,  stern  want  (I  could  tell 
you  plenty  about  anxious,  sleepless  nights) — forget  for 
once  that  I  was  undutiful  and  give  me  the  means  to  rescue 
myself.  What  are  a  few  hundred  thalers  to  you?"  Over 
the  continuation  lay  the  mark  of  the  wheel,  and  the  deli- 
cate characters  were  entirely  effaced.  The  address  of  the 
writer,  however,  was  still  tolerably  legible  on  the  other 
side,  and  in  one  spot  stood  those  two  words  which  had 
produced  such  an  effect  on  my  grandmother — "Thy 
Christine." 

Who  was  this  Christine — this  wonder,  this  star  of  the 
age? 

The  passage  "on  my  knees  I  entreat  you"  had  made  a 
great  impression  on  my  simple,  uncultivated  mind.  I 


THE  miNCffSS  OF  THE  MOOR.  51 

immediately  pictured  to  myself  one  of  those  tall,  slender 
youug  ladies  whose  portraits  I  had  often  gazed  at  in  my 
story-books  falling  on  her  knees,  while  her  hands  were 
uplifted  in  earnest  entreaty — and  she  had  lost  her  yeice, 
too,  her  precious  voice!  My  hands  went  involuntarily  to 
my  own  throat.  How  dreadful  that  must  be,  to  open 
your  mouth  and  to  fail  in  producing  a  single  tone! 

Neither  Fraulein  Streit  nor  Use  had  ever  appeared  to 
give  this  Christine  a  thought,  and  yet  she  must  have  been 
very  nearly  related  to  my  grandmother,  for  she  had  been 
her  last  thought.  Only  now  did  I  thoroughly  realize  the 
meaning  of  that  "Christine,  I  forgive!"  In  the  depths 
of  my  soul  and  involuntarily  it  recalled  the  prodigal  son 
who  had  remained  within  his  father's  heart,  the  ever  well- 
beloved  one. 

I  put  the  letter  in  my  pocket  and  returned  to  the  hall. 
The  doctor's  carriage  was  just  rattling  through  the  gate 
and  turning  off  toward  the  left  into  the  gloomy  haide, 
while  Heinz  at  the  identical  moment  was  approaching 
from  the  opposite  side.  It  only  then  occurred  to  me  that 
he  had  been  hours  absent.  I  went  up  at  once  to  Use,  who 
had  accompanied  the  doctor  as  far  as  the  door,  and  re- 
mained standing  on  the  threshold.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
my  friend  Heinz  came  forward  with  considerable  hesita- 
tion. First  of  all  he  made  the  greatest  piece  of  work 
about  opening  the  wicket  before  he  advanced  to  meet  us; 
it  was  evidently  very  hard  for  him,  but  at  the  sight  of  our 
tear-stained  faces  he  stood  still  bewildered. 

"Well,  what  was  his  opinion'1"  he  faltered  out,  point- 
ing over  his  shoulder  after  the  doctor. 

"Oh,  Heinz,  you  do  not  know,"  I  screamed  aloud,  but 
Use  interrupted  me  sharply. 

"Where  have  you  been?"  she  inquired  of  her  brother 
in  a  dry,  harsh  voice. 

"At  home,"  he  answered  gruffly. 

Heinz  sturdy!  I  could  not  believe  my  eyes  or  ears; 
nevertheless  there  he  stood,  that  ordinarily  yielding  crea- 
ture, taking  courage  from  the  sound  of  his  own  voice,  for 
he  actually  went  so  far  as  to  meet  Use's  antagonistic  gaze 
boldly. 

"So — and  what  took  you  home  at  such  an  hour?  Did 
your  birds  want  feeding?" 

He  looked  at  her  anxiously  and  answered : 


52  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Oh,  je,  feed  birds  at  one  o'clock  at  night — how  could 
I  be  such  an  idiot?  No,  I  was  sitting  between  my  own 
four  walls,  bnilt  by  my  own  father's  worthy  hands.  A  pious 
motto  stands  over  the  door,  and  how  then  could  I  remain 
at  the  Dierkhof  while  a  Jewess'  soul  was  passing  into 
eternity?  Use,  if  my  father  only  knew  that  you  had  been 
in  a  Jewess'  service!" 

"Heinz,  if  my  father  only  knew  that  you  had  been  in  a 
Christian's  service  where  you  were  nearly  starved  and 
frozen,  where  all  day  long  you  got  nothing  but  kicks  and 
blows!"  replied  Use  angrily.  "That  is  quite  a  novel  style 
of  wisdom  you  are  displaying — and  you  got  it  over  yonder," 
she  said,  pointing  in  the  direction  of  a  large  village  at  the 
back  of  the  forest  where  Heinz  had  formerly  been  groom. 

"Yes,  you  are  right,"  he  replied,  nodding  his  head 
stiffly  and  looking  just  as  refractory  as  ever.  "I  did  learn 
it  yonder.  The  Jews  are  accursed  to  all  eternity  because 
they  crucified  our  Lord.  My  master  said  so,  and  he  was 
a  rich  man  and  had  large  estates,  and  the  clergyman 
preached  the  same  from  the  pulpit,  and  he  must  know 
best,  else  why  was  he  pastor?" 

Use  looked  keenly  at  the  speaker,  and  advancing  toward 
him  with  uplifted  finger  replied  shortly : 

"Now,  attend  to  me.  Once  for  all,  it  is  not  true  that 
the  Almighty  will  be  everlastingly  avenged  for  the  Lord's 
death.  If  I  thought  so  there  would  be  an  end  to  my 
faith,  for  he  has  himself  told  us,  'Bless  them  that  curse 
you,'  and  yet  would  have  failed  to  do  it  himself.  It  is  true 
that  every  time  I  read  of  Christ's  sufferings  I  am  filled 
with  a  heathen's  rage  against  the  Jews,  but  against  those 
Jews,  mark  well,  brother  Heinz,  who  lived  at  that  time; 
for  how  could  I  be  so  inhuman  as  to  nourish  wrath 
against  creatures  who  come  into  the  world  now  as  inno- 
cent children  and  are  brought  up  by  their  parents  in  the 
old  erroneous  doctrines?  Ah,  Heinz,  if  any  one  did  me  a 
wrong  and  I  wanted  to  beat  his  children  for  it,  how  would 
yon  like  that?" 

"That  is  only  learning,  Use,  which  you  got  from  the 
gniidige  Frau,"  said  Heinz  feebly. 

"No,  I  have  not  learned  that  like  Bible  sentences  at 
school,  but  my  own  conscience  has  taught  it  to  me  and 
my  own  sound  understanding,"  said  she,  pointing  to  her 
forehead.  "At  first  I  often  talked,  indeed,  with  my  poor 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  53 

lady,  and  have  calmed  her  many  a  time  after  the  'men  in 
the  black  coat'  have  done  mischief.  The  Jews  once  cruci- 
fied our  Lord,  but  such  as  the  pastor  yonder  [and  she 
again  pointed  toward  the  distant  town],  they  crucify  him 
daily.  Fire  and  sword  and  damnation  do  not  make  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  attactive,  and  people  are  not  to  blame 
if  they  will  none  of  it !  Now  you  know  my  opinion,  and 
I  tell  you  still  further  that  you  ought  to  feel  ashamed  to 
your  very  heart's  core,  you  ungrateful  creature.  Have 
you  not  for  years  past  eaten  your  daily  bread  at  the  Dierk- 
hof? — and  I  fancy  it  agreed  uncommonly  well  with  you, 
though  it  was  Jew's  bread — and  now  you  must  forsake 
the  old  mistress  in  her  dying  hour.  Go  home  and  read 
over  the  chapter  about  the  good  Samaritan." 

So  saying,  she  turned  away  back  into  the  house. 

And  she  was  right,  quite  right!  Every  word  she  uttered 
seemed  to  lift  a  burden  off  my  heart  and  give  a  vent  to 
my  irritation.  I  was  thoroughly  disgusted,  and  yet  I 
could  not  help  pitying  the  unfortunate  offender  as  he 
stood  there  with  downcast  eyes,  not  venturing  to  cross  the 
threshold.  How  could  it  be  possible?  This  tender- 
hearted man,  who  would  not  have  seen  an  animal  hurt, 
suddenly  betraying  this  black  spot  in  his  disposition,  an 
incredible  degree  of  hardness  and  want  of  mercy,  thinking 
himself  not  alone  right,  but  thoroughly  justified  in  it  as  a 
Christian. 

"Heinz,  you  have  played  a  bad  part,"  I  remarked  in  a 
hard,  cold  tone. 

"Ah,  princess,"  he  sighed,  while  tears  filled  his  eyes, 
"who  is  to  set  it  right  then?  It  is  a  deadly  sin  to  act  in 
opposition  to  the  pastor,  and  now  Use  thinks  ill  of  me 
because  I  obeyed  him." 

"Use  is  always  right — and  that  you  should  have  known," 
I  replied  in  a  voice  from  which  the  former  severity  had 
all  vanished.  Immature  as  were  my  powers  of  thought,  I 
was  still  able  to  discern  that  there  was  not  a  single  liber 
of  cruelty  rooted  in  Heinz'  heart,  but  that  it  was  simply 
grafted  into  it — how  abominable ! 

My  eyes  involuntarily  swept  the  sky.  The  flood  of  light 
which  had  now  risen  pained  me  no  more.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  as  balm  to  my  wounded  heart,  and  I  realized 
for  the  first  time,  after  witnessing  death  in  the  night, 
what  a  marvelous  prophecy  is  that  of  the  Resurrection. 


54  THE  PRINCESS  Off  THE  MOOR. 

I  took  Heinz'  hand  in  mine  and  said : 

"Come  in  with  me;  you  cannot  remain  standing  in  the 
yard.  Use  will  be  good-tempered  again  already,  and  my 
poor  dear  grandmother,  she  has  forgiven  you  long  ago. 
She  is  in  heaven." 

"God  knows  how  sorry  I  am  for  the  old  mistress,"  he 
murmured,  and  let  me  lead  him  like  a  child  into  the  pas- 
sage. 

Ilse  was  outside  in  the  orchard.  She  had  just  put  the 
bucket  under  the  pump  and  was  about  to  raise  the  handle, 
but  with  the  first  sound  she  let  it  fall,  with  a  face  white 
as  ashes. 

"I  cannot  stand  that,"  she  groaned  aloud. 

She  came  in,  sat  down,  and  hid  her  eyes  in  her  apron ; 
but  that  did  not  last  two  minutes. 

"What  a  silly  thing  I  am,"  she  said,  straightening  her- 
self up  and  smoothing  out  her  apron  over  her  knees. 
"There,  I  am  longing  to  see  my  mistress  at  the  pump 
once  more,  where  she  used  to  cool  her  poor,  hot  head, 
and  I  ought  to  be  thanking  God  instead  that  she  is  lying 
quiet  within,  released  from  all  her  sorrow." 

"Ilse,  was  Christine  the  cause  of  this  sorrow?"  I  in- 
quired timidly. 

She  looked  sharply  at  me. 

"Ah,  so,"  she  replied  after  a  little  reflection;  "you 
heard  about  it,  too,  last  night.  Well,  you  may  know  she 
brought  as  much  sorrow  on  her  mother  as  a  rebellious 
daughter  well  can." 

"And  my  father  had  a  sister,  then?"  I  exclaimed  in  sur- 
prise. 

"A  stepsister,  child.  Your  grandmother  was  first  mar- 
ried to  a  Jew,  who  died  early — while  that  same  Christine 
was  still  in  long  clothes;  two  years  afterward  your  grand- 
mother and  the  child  were  baptized  and  she  became  Frau 
Eathin  von  Sassen.  Now  you  know  all." 

"No,  Ilse,  not  all.     What  crime  did  Christine  commit?" 

"She  ran  away  secretly  and  joined  a  set  of  actors." 

"Is  that  so  wicked?" 

"Kunning  away  was,  of  course — you  ought  to  know  that 
yourself;  but  about  the  actors,  as  I  know  none  I  cannot 
tell  whether  they  are  good  or  bad.  Have  you  done  now?" 

"Ilse,  don't  be  angry,  but  one  thing  more  I  want  to  ask 
you.  This  Christine  is  very  unhappy— she  has  lost  her 
voice," 


TfiE  PRIM 'fiUS  OF  TItK  MOOR  35 

"So,  then,  you  have  found  that  letter  and  read  it,"  she 
said  in  her  most  icy  tones. 

I  nodded  my  head  silently. 

"And  yon  are  not  ashamed  of  yourself!"  she  said. 
"You  reproach  me  for  doing  my  duty  and  my  business 
in  these  hours  of  sorrow,  and  are  yourself  taking  the 
opportunity  of  peeping  into  letters  which  do  not  belong  to 
you.  Do  you  know  that  that  is  the  same  as  stealing? 
And  besides,  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  the  whole  affair. 
Now  let  that  content  you." 

"No,  that  I  can't.  I  am  so  sorry  for  her.  Will  you 
really  send  her  nothing?  Ah,  Use,  I  beg  of  you — — " 

"Not  one  penny.  She  took  away  more  than  her  own 
fortune  the  night  she  left  her  home  secretly,  and  that  used 
to  torment  that  poor  head  too." 

"My  grandmother  forgave  her,  Use."' 

"You  needn't  tell  me  that.  A  mother  may  well  do  so 
when  she  is  scarcely  any  longer  on  earth ;  but  to  us  who 
have  witnessed  those  long  years  of  misery  and  have  all 
along  acted  honestly,  it  is  something  harder.  Do  you 
take  everything  for  truth  that  is  in  the  letter?  She  will 
come  crawling  on  her  knees — oh,  yes,  but  not  for  pardon, 
not  she.  She  has  got  on  uncommonly  well  all  these  years 
without  that;  no,  no,  money  is  what  she  wants — money, 
dear  money ;  it  is  worth  while  to  fall  on  her  knees  for 
that." 

How  intensely  must  Use  have  felt  all  this  to  have  spoken 
with  such  bitterness  and  fluency — the  silent  Use! 

"And  I  may  as  well  take  this  opportunity  to  let  you 
know  why  your  grandmother  could  not  bear  the  sound  of 
money.  It  can  do  you  no  harm  to  know  how  many  a  mis- 
fortune lies  connected  with  such  thalers  as  you  saw  yester- 
day for  the  first  time  in  your  life.  Your  grandmother 
was  the  richest  woman  in  Hanover;  her  first  husband  had 
left  her  chests  full  of  money;  afterward,  at  her  second 
marriage,  she  brought  herself  to  the  tremendous  sacrifice 
of  renouncing  her  faith ;  that  she  dared  not  retain,  but 
the  same  objection  did  not  hold  good  with  regard  to  the 
money.  It  did  not  last  long,  and  it  became  very  evident 
that  not  for  love  of  her,  but  for  her  gold,  had  the  second 
husband  chosen  her.  In  time,  however,  her  whole  capital 
disappeared — he  understood  how  to  make  it  fly." 

"And  that  was  my  grandfather,  Use?" 


56  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

The  rich  carmine  rose  to  Use's  brow  and  covered  her 
whole  face. 

"There  you  are,"  she  said  in  a  tone  of  vexation.  "You 
give  a  person  no  peace,  and  then,  of  course,  these  things 
come  to  light.  But  this  much  I  say,  child,  you  need  not 
come  to  me  again  about  this  Christine — she  is  dead  to  me, 
remember  that,  child,  and  you  need  think  no  more  of  the 
deceiver.  Such  things  are  not  fit  for  your  young  head." 

She  pushed  a  cup  toward  Heinz,  who  sat  silent  and 
humble  near,  and  poured  him  out  some  coffee,  but  did  not 
vouchsafe  him  a  glance.  Then  she  went  to  the  pump 
once  more,  and  I  saw  her  set  her  teeth  as  she  worked  the 
handle,  but  she  would  do  it,  and  the  water  flowed  until 
the  pail  was  full. 

Well,  though  Use  was  always  right,  still  in  this  I  could 
not  obey  her.  I  could  not  choose  but  think  of  the  unfor- 
tunate singer.  She  was  my  aunt.  My  aunt!  How  sweet 
and  pleasant  that  sounded,  though  far  too  sedate  for  the 
charming  vision  I  had  conjured  up,  and  yet  she  was  older 
than  my  father — more  than  forty-two.  Oh,  how  awfully 
old!  Yet  all  availed  naught.  My  fancy  was  busied  in 
dressing  up  its  interesting  creation.  Was  she  not  a  singer? 

I  fled  to  the  solitary  hill  yonder  to  ease  my  overburdened 
heart,  and  gazed  with  melancholy  eyes  on  the  beautiful 
blue  sky  above.  Did  she  see  me,  my  dear,  dear  grand- 
mother, as  I  sat  sorrowfully  there?  She  at  least  was  not 
angry  that  I  thought  of  Christine — she  had  forgiven  her ! 


VIII. 

•  FOUR  weeks  had  elapsed  since  my  grandmother's  death. 
I  was  present  when  she  was  laid  in  the  cemetery  in  the 
village  near.  The  old  pastor  had  prayed  for  the  departed 
as  earnestly  as  though  his  favorite  penitent  lay  at  his  feet, 
and  even  Heinz  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  the  few 
planks  inclosed  a  soul  once  made  a  Christian  and  gone 
back  again  to  its  Judaism,  for  he  wept  bitterly.  The 
brilliant  summer  flowers  were  blooming  now  afresh  on  the 
newly  made  hill;  they  rose  out  of  the  dark  ground,  like 
sweet  dreams  of  the  sleepers  yonder,  and  nodded  with 
their  bright  eyes  at  the  outer  world. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  57 

This  was  just  the  loveliest  season  at  the  lonely  Dierkhpf . 
It  lay  in  the  center  of  a  peach-colored  bed.  The  haide 
was  just  bursting  into  full  bloom,  and  the  bees,  which 
had  hitherto  been  luxuriating  in  the  fields  of  rape  and 
buckwheat  blossoms,  intoxicated  with  delight,  began  to 
cover  the  boundless  plain,  now  literally  dropping  honey. 
They  began,  too,  humming  the  old  monotonous  haide 
melody  beneath  the  homely  roof.  My  favorites,  the  blue 
butterflies,  too,  were  skimming  about  in  such  masses  that 
it  seemed  as  if  the  blue  summer  sky  were  falling  around 
in  fragments.  On  the  sands  green-and-golden  beetles  were 
running  to  and  fro,  and  in  the  meadows  and  garden-plots 
around  the  splendid  admiral  and  peacock's-eye  fluttered 

g»yiy- 

In  former  days  I  should  have  been  chasing  the  butter- 
flies, and  having  caught  them,  been  enjoying  the  marvel- 
ous beauty  of  the  colors  on  their  wings  for  a  time,  then 
letting  them  fly  away  once  more.  Many  an  hour  had  I 
thus  passed  in  the  haide — it  was  different  now.  I  passed 
much  of  my  time  in  my  grandmother's  room,  which,  with 
its  antiquated  furniture  from  the  Jewish  days,  possessed  a 
mysterious  fascination  for  me.  Everything  stood  in  its 
old  familiar  place — not  an  article  had  been  moved;  the 
old  clock  had  been  regularly  wound  up,  and  that  nothing 
might  be  wanting  to  cherish  the  illusion  that  the  departed 
was  still  in  the  room,  Use  had  reset  the  burned-out  candles 
in  the  silver  luster. 

She  opened  a  box  or  two  for  me  also;  most  of  the  com- 
partments were  empty.  At  the  time  of  her  flight  from 
the  world  my  grandmother  had  cast  away  every  incum- 
1  brance,  and  every  trifling  remnant  which  gave  me  an  in- 
sight into  that  vanished  time  possessed,  of  course,  a 
double  interest  for  me. 

Some  dresses  which  my  grandmother  had  once  worn 
(but  never  in  the  haide)  hung  in  a  press.  One  day  Use 
took  down  one  of  these,  a  black  woolen  one,  and  having 
turned  it  began  to  cut  out;  she  had  learned  dress-making 
in  town,  and  this  was  her  especial  pride.  I  was  consider- 
ably alarmed  when  she  begged  me  to  let  her  try  on  this 
specimen  of  her  powers — the  thing  looked  like  a  strait- 
waistcoat. 

"Oh,  Use,  not  that,"  I  remonstrated,  shuddering  as  I 
toie  at  the  tight  band  which  nearly  choked  me,  and  felt 


58  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

my  unfortunate  elbows  so  confined  that  I  thought  they 
must  burst  through  their  bonds  and  make  room  for  them- 
selves. 

"Oh,  yon  will  soon  grow  accustomed  to  them,"  said  she 
coolly,  cutting  away. 

We  were  sitting  in  the  orchard  under  the  oaks,  where  I 
had  brought  out  a  table  and  chairs.  It  was  burning  hot 
out  on  the  moor,  but  where  we  were  settled  it  was  cool 
and  pleasant;  the  bees  were  humming,  the  magpies  chat- 
tering in  their  nest  above.  I  had  my  great  brown  straw 
hat  in  my  hand,  for  which  Use  had  sent  to  town  fully  five 
seasons  ago.  I  was,  by  Use's  direction,  turning  the  pink 
ribbon,  which  had  been  the  delight  of  my  eyes. 

Just  then  Heinz  came  up  and  laid  a  letter  before  Use. 

My  father  had,  on  receipt  of  a  telegram  announcing  my 
grandmother's  death,  written  acknowledging  it,  and  at 
the  same  time  excusing  himself  from  being  present  at  the 
funeral  in  consequence  of  severe  illness.  Since  then  Use 
and  he  had  kept  up  a  lively  correspondence,  but  what 
about  I  knew  not,  as  I  never  saw  a  line.  This  much, 
however,  I  was  aware  of,  that  scarcely  five  days  had  elapsed 
between  the  last  letter  Use  had  written  and  the  one  she 
was  in  the  act  of  perusing  before  my  eyes. 

"Nothing  in  it,"  she  said,  putting  the  letter  in  her 
pocket.  "We  are  to  set  out  the  day  after  to-morrow — that 
is  settled." 

Hat  and  scissors  fell  from  my  hands. 

"You  will  set  out?"  I  repeated  in  a  choking  voice. 
"You  are  going  off  with  Heinz?  Going  to  leave  me  totally 
alone  at  the  Dierkhof  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  the  poor  Dierkhof  would  look  well  so,"  she 
exclaimed;  and  for  the  first  time  since  my  grandmother's 
death  a  faint  smile  rose  to  her  lips.  "You  silly  thing,  it 
is  you  that  are  going." 

I  stood  up  and  pushed  my  chair  back  so  violently  that  it 
fell  with  a  crash. 

"I  am?    Where  to?" 

"To  the  city,"  came  the  laconic  reply. 

At  these  words  the  sunny  haide  yonder  and  the  vener- 
able murmuring  oaks  seemed  to  melt  into  thin  air,  and  the 
horrible,  gloomy  back  room  once  more  received  me,  with 
its  damp,  vault-like  garden  buried  in  the  midst  of  four 
moldy-looking  houses. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR.  59 

"And  what  am  I  to  do  in  the  city?"  I  gasped  out. 

"Learn." 

"I  won't  go,  Use,  of  that  you  may  rest  assured,"  I  said 
decidedly,  while  hot  bitter  tears  nearly  choked  me.  "You 
may  do  what  you  like  with  me,  but  you  will  see  that  even 
at  the  eleventh  hour  I  will  cling  to  the  door-posts.  Have 
you  the  heart  to  send  me  away?"  I  shook  Heinz,  who 
remained  standing  there  like  a  statue,  open-mouthed, 
despairing.  "Don't  you  hear?"  I  cried.  "I  am  to  be 
sent  away.  "Will  you  allow  that,  Heinz?" 

"Is  it  really  true,  Use?"  he  asked  timidly. 

"Well,  did  any -one  ever  see  such  a  pair  of  children," 
she  replied.  "One  would  think  I  was  going  to  cut  the 
child's  throat.  Do  you  really  think  this  kind  of  thing 
can  go  on  her  whole  life  long,  Heinz — that  the  child  is  to 
grow  up  running  wild  about  the  haide  the  whole  blessed 
day,  coming  home  at  night  bare  footed,  with  her  shoes  and 
stockings  in  her  hand?  She  knows  nothing  and  can  do 
nothing,  and  runs  away  from  a  strange  face  just  like  a  wild 
cat.  There  must  be  an  end  to  that,  so  be  rational,  child," 
and  so  saying  she  drew  me  down  on  her  knee  like  a  little 
child.  "I  am  going  to  take  you  to  your  father.  Stay 
there  two  years  and  learn  what  you  ought,  and  if  at  the 
end  of  that  time  nothing  else  will  satisfy  you,  then  you 
can  return  to  the  haide  and  we  will  all  live  together." 

Two  years!  that  seemed  to  me  an  eternity.  Twice 
would  the  moor  be  in  blossom,  twice  would  the  storks  go 
and  return,  but  I  should  not  be  there!  I  should  be  im- 
prisoned within  four  walls,  knitting  stockings  or  writing 
copies  and  learning  lessons  by  heart.  I  shuddered  at  the 
thought,  and  every  nerve  in  my  body  rose  in  determined 
opposition  and  excitement. 

"Bury  me  at  once  in  yonder  cemetery,  Use,"  I  said 
sullenly.  "You  shall  not  take  me  back  to  that  horrible 
room." 

"Nonsense,"  interrupted  Use.  "Do  you  think  your 
father  carried  it  with  him?  He  has  left  that  place  long 
ago  and  lives  now  in  K." 

At  this  piece  of  information  the  curly  brown  head  with 
the  snow-white  forehead  again  rose  before  me,  and  I  saw 
the  mocking  eyes  looking  plainly  at  me.  It  came  upon 
me  so  unexpectedly  and  always  produced  such  violent 
emotion  that  the  blood  rushed  to  my  temples. 


60  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"My  father  does  not  want  me,"  I  said,  hiding  my  face 
on  Use's  neck. 

"We  shall  see,"  she  replied,  with  an  ill-repressed  sigh: 
but  she  raised  her  head  at  the  same  moment  and  pushed 
me  away. 

"Must  it  be?    Ah,  Use " 

"It  must  be,  child;  and  now  be  quiet  and  don't  plague 
my  life  out.  Think  of  your  grandmother — she  wished 
it." 

She  returned  to  her  sewing  with  redoubled  energy,  but 
Heinz  put  his  cold  pipe  in  his  pocket  and  slipped  out. 
Toward  evening  I  saw  him  sitting  on  the  great  hill  yonder; 
his  arms  were  folded  on  his  knees  and  he  was  gazing  into 
space.  I  rushed  over  to  him  at  once,  and  then  the  flood- 
gates of  my  tears,  which  Use's  sterner  presence  had  sup- 
pressed, broke  forth  with  unrestrained  passion.  The  blue 
sky  above  had  probably  never  witnessed  a  parting  scene  of 
deeper  sorrow. 

Next  day  the  sitting-room  looked  so  wretched.  A  great 
wooden  trunk  stood  in  the  midst  and  Use  packed  away. 

"Look  here,"  said  she,  pushing  a  packet  of  coarse 
colored  bed-ticking  toward  me.  "Isn't  that  magnificent? 
There  is  real  substance  in  that.  The  woven  stuff  your 
grandmother  slept  in  has  always  kept  me  in  terror." 

She  pushed  a  bundle  of  remarkably  fine  embroidered 
linen  material  aside  with  a  gesture  of  disdain. 

"These  ixew  bed-covers  you  will  take  with  you,"  she 
said.  "I  have  laid  them  in  by  degrees  since  we  came  to  the 
Dierkhof.  Take  care  of  them." 

A  whole  regiment  of  those  hard  coarse  stockings  knitted 
from  the  haide  wool  were  also  packed  up  and  filled  a 
goodly  space  in  the  trunk.  For  years  Use  had  been  laying 
up  stores  for  me  which  were  now  going  to  make  their 
debut  in  the  world!  Next  followed  gigantic  feather-beds, 
which  were  made  up  into  balls  and  presented  a  formidable 
aspect.  A  veritable  cargo  was  mine! 

All  these  preparations  caused  me  the  bitterest  sorrow, 
and  yet  there  were  moments  in  which  my  young  heart 
swelled  with  some  indefinable  emotion,  some  glad  presenti- 
ment— some  fair  sweet  hope — but  it  came  and  went  like 
the  lightning  flash,  and,  strange  melange  of  thoughts,  my 
eye  fell  each  time  shyly  and  inquiringly  on  my  unfortunate 
shoes!  They  had  grown  nice  and  large  for  me  now  and 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  61 

gave  my  feet  ample  room  to  move  about  in.  I  walked 
about  heavily,  endeavoring  to  calm  my  anxious  heart  with 
the  downright  certainty  that  the  nails  did  not  make  half 
so  much  noise  as  four  weeks  previously.  But  it  was  no 
use;  so  I  actually  came  to  the  resolve,  in  my  dire  necessity, 
to  beg  Use  to  buy  me  a  pair  of  new  shoes  on  the  way.  But 
how  I  suffered  for  it.  She  took  one  of  mine  off,  and  hold- 
ing it  up  to  the  light  she  said : 

"Such  work  and  such  soles  you  may  look  for  long 
enough.  They  will  serve  you  to  dance  in  for  two  years 
at  least.  You  don't  want  any  new  ones." 

That  settled  the  matter. 

The  morning  dawned  at  last  when  I,  in  deed  and  truth, 
must  leave  my  beloved  Dierkhof !  Before  four  o'clock  I 
was  already  coursing  over  the  dewy  haide.  With  out- 
stretched arms  I  gazed  upon  the  rich  heather  blossoms, 
the  misty  marsh,  and  in  my  agony  gave  the  good  old  pine 
such  a  shake  that  the  few  remaining  needles  of  the  past 
winter  showered  down  upon  my  hair.  Spitz  had  accom- 
panied me  and  was  bounding  and  barking  away  like  mad ; 
he  looked  upon  all  my  wild  motions  as  so  much  fun  and 
frolic  intended  for  his  amusement.  I  plaited  a  gay  wreath 
for  Mieke's  horns,  but  she  was  too  sleepy  and  comfortable 
to  low  even  her  thanks  or  a  farewell. 

Then  Use  put  the  new  black  frock  on  me,  and  a  snow- 
white  muslin  collar,  taken  from  my  grandmother's  ward- 
robe, above  which  my  dark-brown  head  looked  something 
like  a  hazel-nut  dropped  on  a  small  bolster.  Over  that 
came  the  huge  straw  hat,  which  Use  had  trimmed  with 
black  ribbon.  I  must  have  presented  a  marvelous  appear- 
ance indeed,  something  like  the  little  mushroom,  with  the 
great  big  hat,  which  I  had  always  laughed  at  when  read- 
ing. 

After  coffee,  which  I  had  swallowed  amid  a  flow  of  tears, 
Use  brought  out  a  band-box  and  took  from  it  with  the 
greatest  solemnity  a  violet  bonnet. 

"That  was  my  Sunday  bonnet  in  Hanover,"  said  she, 
going  to  the  glass  and  settling  the  silken  structure  care- 
fully on  her  head.  "One  cannot  go  out  without  a  bonnet 
in  town." 

.  I  looked  at  her  with  respect.  Naturally  the  term 
"fashion"  did  not  exist  in  my  vocabulary.  I  *had  no  idea 
that  beyond  the  haide  there  existed  a  power  which  com- 


(52  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR, 

pletely  subdues  mankind  and  which  makes  him,  in  out- 
ward form  at  least,  follow  it  at  its  will  and  pleasure. 
That,  however,  took  nothing  from  the  respect  with  which 
I  regarded  the  pointed  edifice  before  me;  but  it  was  evi- 
dent that  during  its  long  seclusion  in  the  band-box  it  had 
lost  much  of  its  color  and  brilliancy.  Use  did  not  appear 
to  notice  this.  She  tied  the  faded  pensees  over  her  stiff 
yellow  hair,  threw  a  large  black  shawl  over  her  shoulders, 
and  away  we  went. 

Heinz  and  a  peasant-boy  drove  the  luggage  to  the  next 
village.  Gently,  but  firmly,  did  Use  push  me  through 
the  door,  to  which  my  feet  seemed  chained.  I  heard  it 
locked  behind  me  and  Use  chasing  the  ducks  and  hens 
which,  cackling  and  screaming,  seemed  determined  on 
following  us.  I  heard  Mieke's  soft  low  from  the  barn  and 
the  wicket  gate  open  and  shut  also,  then  I  felt  that  1 
was  driven  from  the  paradise  of  my  childhood  on  that 
game  road  which  Fraulein  Streit  had  once  taken. 

How  I  parted  from  Heinz  I  know  not.  That  sunny 
farewell  morning  to  this  day  remains  enveloped  in  tears. 
I  only  know  that  I  embraced  that  good,  kind  weeping 
form  with  both  arms,  and  despite  the  huge  brown  hat 
buried  my  face  in  the  old  working-coat,  and  that  he,  sur- 
rounded by  a  gaping  multitude  of  peasant-boys,  hid  his 
eyes  in  his  handkerchief  while  I  mounted  the  carriage 
which  was  to  take  us  to  the  distant  posting  station. 


IX. 

IT  was  noon  when,  exhausted  and  cramped,  we  reached 
K.  after  having  traveled  the  whole  night  and  part  of  the 
previous  day  in  the  railway.  The  novelty  of  everything 
around  me  had  been  quite  overpowering,  and  now  the  sun 
shone  perpendicularly  over  our  heads,  looking  as  if  it 
would  burn  up  the  puffing  train  and  the  great  rows  of 
houses  into  very  powder. 

"To  Dr.  von  Sassen's,"  said  Use  authoritatively  to  the 
two  men  who  had  loaded  a  small  carriage  with  our  belong- 
ings. 

"I  don't  know  him,"  answered  one  of  the  men. 

She  gave  the  number  of  the  house. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  63 

"Oh,  the  great  seed  warehouse — Firma  Claudius. 
Good,"  he  replied  respectfully  and  drove  off. 

A  stifling  cloud  of  dust  enveloped  us  on  the  way  between 
the  town  and  the  terminus,  and  it  lay  like  ashes  powder  d 
over  the  green  fields  and  chestnut-trees  over  our  heads. 
Still,  there  was  a  breath  of  air  to  be  met  with  occasionally, 
but  in  the  streets  that  we  were  just  entering  a  heavy, 
mephitic  atmosphere  reigned  around.  Now  and  then  the 
narrow  streets  broadened  and  a  monotonous  little  patch 
might  be  seen  on  which  fche  sun  played.  Oh,  the  bloom- 
ing plain  at  home,  with  the  refreshing  haide  perfume  and 
the  cool,  murmuring  oaks  around  the  Dierkhof ! 

"This  is  enough  to  kill  one,  Ilse,"  I  groaned  as  she 
seized  my  hand  and  drew  me  hurriedly  upon  the  footpath. 
A  carriage  was  just  wheeling  round  the  corner. 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  met  scarcely  any  one.  The 
noonday  heat  had  made  the  streets  empty  and  quiet,  but 
suddenly  a  distant  sound  of  drums  and  fifes  became 
audible. 

"Relieving  guard,"  said  Ilse,  with  a  pleased  smile — old 
Hanoverian  memories  were  awakened,  doubtless,  at  the 
sound.  The  noise  came  nearer  and  nearer,  and  all  at 
once  a  crowd  of  people  broke  into  the  street. 

"Hi — look  at  that!"  roared  a  youngster,  planting  him- 
self right  before  Ilse.  "She  was  in  the  ark  with  Noah." 
And  with  a  grimace  he  put  his  two  fists  together  on  the 
top  of  his  head,  in  imitation  of  the  bonnet's  shape. 
Everybody  laughed,  and  even  the  two  porters  grinned. 

"Street-boys!"  said  Ilse  contemptuously,  tossing  her 
head  as,  to  my  unspeakable  comfort,  we  turned  into  a 
quiet  street.  "The  people  in  Hanover  are  much  more 
mannerly — there  such  a  tiling  never  happened  to  me." 

Every  nerve  in  my  body  quivered  and  I  felt  overcome 
with  deep  depression — Ilse,  my  venerated  Use,  had  actually 
been  made  fun  of!  I  pressed  the  hand  which  had  been 
my  guide  and  guardian  to  the  present  moment  fondly 
against  my  cheek,  and  allowed  my  hot,  tired  feet  to  carry 
me  mechanically  further. 

The  sound  of  the  band  gradually  died  away  behind  us, 
and  the  men  at  last  stopped  in  a  retired,  deadly  quiet 
street,  full,  however,  of  handsome  houses.  We  stopped 
before  one  built  of  stone.  A  number  of  windows  on  the 
ground-floor  were  defended  with  iron  bars,  and  steps  with 


64  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

a  handsome  iron  balustrade  led  up  to  the  hall  door,  which 
was  raised  high  from  the  ground.  The  ancient  house, 
with  its  broad,  massive  front,  no  doubt  was  imposing;  but 
the  iron  grating  on  the  windows,  the  dark  stone  walls,  on 
which  no  ray  of  sunlight  fell,  and  the  richly  carved 
ornamented  doors  filled  me  with  horror;  and  the  large 
glittering  brass  plate  stared  at  me  like  a  dark,  mysterious 
riddle. 

"Now,  Use,  do  you  see,  I  was  right  about  the  back 
room,"  I  exclaimed  in  a  despairing  tone.  "Let  us  turn 
back." 

"Wait  a  little  while,"  said  she,  dragging  me  up  the  steps. 
The  porters  took  the  luggage  on  their  shoulders  and  fol- 
lowed. Use  rang.  Immediately  after  the  door  opened 
slowly,  and  we  were  admitted  by  an  old  man  into  an  un- 
usually lofty  large  hall.  It  was  paved  in  mosaic  and  the 
broad  winding  staircase  in  the  background  was  also  made 
of  stone,  as  also  the  two  immense  pillars  which  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  hall  and  formed  into  splendid  arches  at 
the  ceiling.  These  masses  of  stone  shed  a  delicious  cool- 
ness around,  but  tended  also  to  give  an  air  of  gloom — a 
kind  of  "dim  religious  light,"  which  did  not  allow  one  ray 
of  the  sun  which  was  so  fiercely  beaming  on  the  steps  ever 
to  enter  there. 

"Firma  Claudius?"  inquired  Use. 

The  man  nodded  stiflly,  while  with  evident  reluctance 
he  made  room  for  the  porters  to  pass. 

"Dr.  von  Sassen  lives  here?" 

"No,  not  here,"  he  made  rapid  answer,  at  once  barring 
the  men's  entrance  with  extended  arm.  "Dr.  von  Sassen 
lives  in  the  Carolinenlust — you  must  go  round  the  corner 
of  the  street  to  reach  it." 

"Oh,  my,"  moaned  Use,  looking  at  me,  "Are  we  to  go 
out  again  in  that  frightful  heat?" 

"I  am  sorry,"  said  the  old  man,  untouched,  "but  the 
way  is  not  through  this  house;  and  yoy,"  he  said,  turn- 
ing to  the  men  with  the  luggage,  "ought  to  know  that 
such  packs  as  those  are  to  be  carried  in  at  the  back  door.' 

Just  as  he  raised  his  voice,  scolding,  a  dog  in  the  back- 
ground began  an  accompaniment  in  barking.  Some  steps 
led  up  to  a  door  a  little  further  off,  and  on  these  steps 
stood  a  lady  dressed  in  black  and  with  a  prettily  trimmed 
cap  on.  She  was  wiping  the  dog's  delicate  little  paws 
•with  a  cloth;  he  had  evidently  been  out  walking. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  65 

"Let  the  people  through,  Erdmann,"  she  called  out 
kindly. 

"But,  Fraulein  Fliedner,  only  look  at  the  dust!"  he 
remonstrated,  regarding  us  as  though  we  were  about  to 
pour  out  the  ashes  of  Vesuvius  on  his  elegantly  polished 
pavement.  "And  if  Herr  Claudius  happens  to  be  in  the 
back  room  and  sees  people  passing  through  the  yard,  there 
may  be  a  piece  of  work." 

"I  will  send  Dorte  down  immediately  after  with  a 
broom,  and  as  regards  any  blame  in  the  matter,  I  will  take 
that  upon  myself,"  she  answered,  reassuring  him.  "Be- 
sides, Herr  Claudius  is  most  positively  not  in  the  back 
room,  as  in  five  minutes  he  is  setting  out  for  Dorotheen- 
thal." 

She  opened  the  door  into  the  yard  herself  and  beckoned 
us  to  come  through  the  hall.  A  faint  smile  passed  over 
her  delicate  face  as  Use  strode  by,  nodding  her  towering 
edifice  thankfully;  but  she  turned  away  rapidly  and  ran 
upstairs,  taking  the  growling  dog  with  her. 

"A  sensible  woman,"  said  Use,  much  gratified  as  the 
door  creaked  and  closed  behind  us. 

The  word  "yard"  had  thoroughly  electrified  me.  I  at 
once  expected  to  see  poultry  like  those  at  the  Dierkhof 
clucking  about,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  was  visible  in  the 
great  empty  square  we  passed  through.  Two  large  wings 
had  been  added  to  the  front  of  the  house,  and  a'long  wall 
running  parallel  had  been  erected  at  the  back.  A  large 
gate  opened  out  of  the  left  wing,  which  was  overlooked 
by  the  neighboring  streets.  Great  piles  of  cases  and  the 
total  absence  of  curtains  or  ornament  of  any  kind  to  the 
windows  of  the  back  part  of  the  house  indicated  that  these 
were  the  business  premises  of  the  firm. 

Just  as  we  entered  the  yard  a  groom  was  harnessing  a 
pair  of  fiery  steeds  to  a  pretty  light  carriage  which  stood 
outside  the  coach-house.  Our  porters  went  in  at  once  by 
a  door  in  the  wall  and  we  followed  them. 

"Where  are  the  people  going?"  called  a  voice  suddenly. 

I  drew  my  hat  still  further  over  my  eyes  and  took  care 
not  to  turn  my  head,  for  I  at  once  recognized  the  voice  to 
be  that  of  the  old  gentleman  in  the  brown  hat,  though  it  did 
not  sound  quite  so  soft  as  it  had  done  four  weeks  before  in 
the  haide.  So  he  was  in  the  back  room  then,  after  all, 
and  now  there  was  going  to  be  a  row,  just  as  the  old  man 


66  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

had  foretold.  The  two  porters  stopped  at  once  at  the 
sound  of  that  almost  military  command  and  did  not  ven- 
ture a  step  further.  Use  alone  faced  round  resolutely. 

"We  want  to  go  to  Herr  von  Sassen's.  May  we  pass 
through  this  way?"  she  inquired  civilly. 

No  answer  was  returned,  but  the  gentleman  must  have 
made  a  sign  of  acquiescence,  for  Use,  without  another 
word,  opened  the  door  and  let  the  porters  in.  On  this 
occasion,  just  like  yesterday,  Use  was  actually  obliged  to 
push  me  through  the  doorway,  for  I  stood  there  literally 
petrified.  My  eye,  accustomed  to  the  uniform  brown  of 
the  haide,  with  its  one  flower  of  reddish-purple,  was  fairly 
dazzled  by  the  sea  of  color  which  spread  over  the  scene 
before  me.  I  was  unable  to  grasp  the  idea  that  this  mass 
of  rainbow  tints  or  delicately  shaded  lines  were  formed  of 
nothing  more  than  flower-blossoms  of  different  sizes  and 
closely  grown  together,  but  it  gave  me  some  perception 
how  human  fancy  had  been  able  to  invent  the  wonders  of 
the  fairy-tales.  This  exquisite  garden  in  tfie  midst  of  the 
unknown  world,  which  up  to  this  had  seemed  to  me  so 
ngly  and  so  dusty,  was  just  like  an  oasis  in  the  midst  of 
the  desert. 

A  bed  of  lilac  heliotrope  lay  close  to  my  very  feet ;  its 
strong  vanille  perfume  scented  the  air  and  absolutely  in- 
toxicated me  with  delight.  Forgotten  were  the  hot,  dusty 
streets  and  the  disagreeable  impressions  of  the  journey, 
the  horrible  noise  of  the  military  band,  the  impudent  little 
street-boys,  and  the  grim  gentleman  in  the  "back  room." 
My  hat  no  longer  felt  glued  to  my  head.  I  threw  it  up 
In  the  air. 

"Oh,  Use,"  I  sang  out,  "how  I  should  like  to  throw 
myself  in  the  midst  of  those  flowers  and  to  let  them 
smother  me!" 

"Would  you,  indeed!"  she  replied  abruptly,  but 
thought  it  advisable  to  hold  me  by  my  skirt. 

The  murmur  of  distant  water  and  the  hum  of  the  bees 
were  the  only  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  of  the  gar- 
den. The  birds  had  retired  into  the  cool  of  the  bushes 
beyond,  and  every  one  was  enjoying  the  noonday  rest. 
Nobody  was  visible  except  one  elderly  man,  whom  by  his 
dress  I  judged  to  be  a  gardener;  he  came  out  of  a  green- 
house as  we  approached  and  showed  the  porters  the  way 
to  the  Carolinenlust,  for  which  Use  thanked  him.  We 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR.  67 

then  came  to  a  river,  over  which  was  thrown  a  light  chain 
bridge.  It  divided  the  blooming  parterre  from  the  other 
side,  which  was  thickly  ornamented  with  shrubs,  between 
which  here  and  there  clumps  of  fine  trees  were  visible, 
closely  shaven  sward  and  trim  gravel  walks. 

As  we  crossed  the  bridge  a  kind  of  terror  came  over  me 
and  I  shrank  behind  Use.  That  laugh,  that  musical  laugh 
which  I  had  heard  four  weeks  ago  in  the  haide,  echoed 
through  the  air,  and  well  I  knew  that  all  my  life  long  I 
should  never  forget  it.  Nevertheless  it  was  from  it  I  fled, 
for  where  the  laugh  was  there  must  also  the  mocking 
eyes  be  of  which  I  felt  so  terribly  afraid.  Use's  broad 
form  effectually  concealed  my  small  person,  and  in  this 
manner  we  proceeded  down  shady  walks  and  up  cool 
thickets,  loud  laughter  and  the  voices  of  girls  chattering 
coming  gradually  nearer,  until  all  at  once  we  saw  colored 
hoops  trundling  on  the  very  path  we  had  just  entered. 

One  of  the  hoops  went  astray  and  ran  into  the  bushes. 
A  young,  delicately  formed  girl  and  a  slight  young  gentle- 
man in  a  summer  suit  followed  it,  and  with  uplifted  arms 
and  mallets  got  deep  into  the  thicket,  where  the  hoop  had 
disappeared.  The  gentleman  was  young  Herr  Claudius, 
and  the  girl  with  the  elegantly  shod,  small  feet  who  was 
beside  him  appeared  to  me  quite  insufferable  with  her 
silver  laugh,  though  I  had  not  even  seen  her  face.  I  was 
in  a  strange  mood,  grumbling  I  knew  not  why,  but  de- 
lighted because  I  could  now  slip  past  without  meeting  the 
young  gentleman. 

I  urged  Use  forward  and  saw  many  more  young  ladies 
standing  about,  but  one  among  them  was  conspicuous 
above  all  the  rest.  She  was  tall  and  large,  dressed  in 
white,  over  which  she  had  thrown  a  flame-colored  jacket 
embroidered  in  gold.  There  was  a  boldness  in  her  move- 
ments, mingled  again  with  a  kind  of  proud  insolence,  the 
effect,  apparently,  of  conscious  power  and  inward  self- 
reliance. 

"Bless  my  heart!"  she  exclaimed,  clasping  her  hands 
in  mock  horror  as  Use,  preceding  the  porters,  came  within 
view,  and  then  bursting  into  a  mischievous  laugh. 

Use  turned  round  consciously  and  took  a  look  at  the 
bedding,  which  was  nodding  so  ludicrously  over  the 
porters'  heads. 

In  a  moment  we  were  surrounded  by  the  assemblage  of 

i     i .  y  v 

ladies, 


68  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR, 

"My  goodness,  Lenore,"  said  Use,  "what  do  you  keep 
pulling  at  me  for  and  hanging  to  my  skirt  like  a  little 
child?  And  she  shook  me  off  and  dragged  me  forward 
beside  her. 

How  awfully  ashamed  I  felt!  In  one  hand  I  had  my 
hat  and  in  the  other  the  huge  white  collar  which,  pity 
knows  how,  had  got  loose  from  my  throat.  Had  I  been 
set  in  the  pillory  I  verily  believe  I  could  not  have  been 
more  thoroughly  overcome  with  shame  and  distress  than  I 
was  under  the  eyes  of  all  these  strange,  curious  girls. 

"Oh,  a  little  gypsy,"  exclaimed  two  voices  at  once  as, 
deeply  embarrassed,  I  lifted  my  head  and  looked  up. 

"A  gypsy  girl,  indeed !"  said  Use,  deeply  offended. 
"She  is  Herr  von  Sassen's  own  child." 

"What,  the  mummy  has  children!"  exclaimed  the  tall 
young  lady  in  the  greatest  astonishment,  and  an  expres- 
sion of  suppressed  amusement  crossed  her  lips.  The 
others,  however,  drew  back  a  little  and  began  to  regard 
me  suddenly  with  altered — I  might  almost  say  kind  and 
respectful — looks. 

Just  at  this  moment  the  young  gentleman  joined  the 
party  again.  I  looked  at  my  shoes.  Their  great  thick 
points  showed  in  all  their  hideousness  upon  the  gravel 

Sath,  and  involuntarily  I  pulled  and  tugged  at  my  black 
rock,  in  the  fond  hope  of  making  it  even  a  shade  longer. 

The  young  man  advanced,  tossing  the  hoop  up  in  the 
air  and  catching  it  again  with  a  light  and  airy  grace, 
which  the  young  lady  beside  him  took  great  trouble  to 
emulate.  Suddenly  his  eye  fell  on  me.  He  screwed  up 
the  brown  eyes  inquiringly  to  make  sure  and  then  advanced 
toward  me. 

"As  I'm  alive,  it  is  the  haide  princess!"  he  burst  out 
in  amazement. 

"Who?"  inquired  the  tall  young  lady,  opening  her  eyes. 

"Oh,  you  know,  Charlotte — the  haide  princess.  I  told 
you  all  about  the  barefooted  little  creaure  that  ran  about 
the  moor  like  a  lizard.  Yes,  a  lizard  with  a  princess' 
crown,"  he  added,  laughing.  "What  on  earth,  though, 
brings  the  little  pearl-seller  here?" 

The  indelicacy  with  which  he  criticised  me  in  my  very 
presence  and  the  undisguised  astonishment  this  young 
man  showed  at  finding  me  in  his  garden  upset  the  re- 
maining spark  of  sense  I  possessed,  but  the  term  "pearl- 
seller"  set  mv  blood  on  fire. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.        69 

"It  is  not  true,"  I  stammered.  "I  did  not  sell  you  the 
pearls.  You  know  I  threw  your  thalers  on  the  sand." 

Charlotte  smiled  and  suddenly  came  toward  me. 

"Ah,  how  charming!  The  little  thing  is  proud,"  she 
said,  stroking  my  hair,  but  much  as  you  might  fondle 
a  pet  dog.  "What  do  you  think  of  the  news,  Dagobert?" 
said  she  to  the  young  man.  "The  mummy  has  a  family, 
'and  that  nice  little  thing  there  is  Dr.  von  Sa^sen's 
daughter." 

"Impossible,"  he  replied  in  the  greatest  amazement. 

"And  what  is  there  so  very  extraordinary  in  that?"  de- 
manded Use.  "Do  you  think  because  the  little  girl  doesn't 
wear  such  things  as  those" — and  she  pointed  at  Charlotte's 
elegant  jacket — "that  she  can't  be  the  child  of  distin- 
guished people?" 

The  young  lady  laughed  immoderately.  Use's  cutting 
remarks  appeared  to  amuse  her. 

"But  how  you  do  look,  Lenore,"  scolded  Use.  "All 
you  want  now  is  to  take  off  your  shoes  and  stockings." 

So  saying,  she  once  more  bound  the  collar  round  my 
throat,  smoothed  my  rumpled  hair  with  both  her  hands, 
and  tied  my  hat  on.  I  looked  anxiously  at  the  girls  stand- 
ing by.  In  their  presence  I  had  become  too  well  aware  of 
how  ridiculous  my  appearance  must  be,  but  none  made  a 
face;  on  the  contrary,  they  looked  as  if  a  real  princess 
had  been  making  her  toilet.  Round  Charlotte's  mouth 
alone  lingered  an  irrepressible  smile. 

"Unfortunate  victim !"  she  said  in  a  tone  of  the  deepest 
pity.  "But  is  the  princess  really  going  to  stay  with  her 
papa?" 

"Of  course,"  replied  Use.  "Where  else?  But  may  I 
beg  you  will  now  let  us  pass?  We  are  weary.  Is  that  at 
last  the  Carolinenlust,  or  whatever  the  place  is  called?" 

"I  will  conduct  you  thither,"  said  the  young  man  very 
politely.  How  he  had  changed  his  tone !  Even  his  eyes, 
which  had  previously  wandered  with  unmistakable  amuse- 
ment over  Use's  strange  head-gear,  did  not  venture  on 
another  mocking  glance. 

My  heart  swelled  within  me.  What  kind  of  man  must 
my  father  be  when  his  very  name  was  sufficient  to  procure 
Use  and  me  such  respect? 

The  ladies  remained  behind,  smiling  farewellj  while  we 
followed  the  young  gentleman  across  the  gravel  path  into 
the  grove  of  yew  trees  beyond. 


70  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


X. 

IT  was  only  a  little  way,  through  a  soft  green  haze,  yet 
I  traversed  it  with  a  beating  heart.  Use  stepped  out 
bravely  and  never  once  looked  round,  but  we  were  scarcely 
well  clear  of  the  thicket  and  the  young  ladies  before  the 
young  gentleman  bent  suddenly  forward,  and  looking  into 
my  eyes  somewhat  roguishly  said : 

"Are  you  angry  with  me  still,  haide  princess?" 

I  shook  my  head.  Strange  that  a  few  whispered  words 
should  make  one's  heart  thrill  thus! 

All  at  once  the  Carolinenlust  lay  before  us !  It  would 
not  have  at  all  astonished  me  had  Frau  Holle*  beckoned 
to  me  out  of  one  of  those  high  windows  and  begged  me  to 
shake  up  her  feather-bed  and  clean  her  rooms.  A  spell 
seemed  to  be  over  me,  and  the  house  before  us  was  in  no 
wise  calculated  to  dispel  the  illusion.  What  did  I  know 
in  those  days  of  the  baroque  and  Renaissance  styles?  The 
fairy  scene  before  my  eyes  was  unimpaired  by  any  knowl- 
edge on  my  part  of  the  stern  rules  of  art.  I  only  saw 
beautiful,  soft  outlines,  looking  as  though  they  were 
formed  of  wax  rather  than  stone,  rising  in  the  air.  I  saw 
pillars,  columns,  and  cornices  exquisitely  united  by  festoons 
of  fruit  and  flowers,  between  which  the  window-panes 
shone  out  here  and  there — in  fact,  a  rococo  castle  on  a 
small  scale,  such  as  the  ornate  style  of  the  previous  cen- 
tury alone  could  have  produced.  Its  reflection  shone  in 
the  clear  waters  which,  surrounded  by  a  cut-stone  balus- 
trade, lay  at  its  feet.  The  pond  and  fan-shaped  grass 
plots,  ornamented  with  marble  statues  and  stiffly  trimmed 
yew  trees,  took  up  most  of  the  narrow  parterre,  along 
which  ran  a  broad  path ;  but  it  soon  again  became  buried 
in  the  shadow  of  the  trees.  Like  a  pearl  floating  on  green 
waves  did  the  little  castle  stand  out  amid  the  forest  trees 
which  reared  their  tall  forms  in  the  background.  While 
we  were  still  near  the  thicket  a  pheasant  ran  almost  over 
our  feet,  and  in  the  shade  before  the  door  a  peacock  was 
strutting  about,  displaying  his  brilliant  plumage,  while  an 

*  From  the  Goddess  Holda,  or  Hulda,  who  in  the  early  heathen 
days  was  regarded  by  the  Germans  as  the  special  guardian  of  their 
agricultural  and  household  affairs.  Her  name  is  still  retained  in  the 
traditions  of  North  Germany  under  the  form  of  Frau  Holle. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  71 

ash-colored  crane  stood  on  one  leg  immovably  by  the  pond, 
its  long  strange  neck  stretched  out  dreamily.  As  we 
approached  he  came  forward  in  the  most  ludicrous  man- 
ner, and  began  dancing  and  bowing,  as  if  he  was  the 
master  of  the  ceremonies — wonder  upon  wonder  for  my 
unaccustomed  eyes! 

In  one  of  the  open  rooms  on  the  ground-floor  the  porters 
deposited  our  luggage  and  were  dismissed.  We  then  as- 
cended the  steps.  We  reached  the  bel-etage  with  high 
doors  around,  which,  strange  to  say,  had  great  official 
seals  pasted  on  them :  large  pieces  of  white  paper  were 
laid  above  the  lock  of  the  doors,  like  a  finger  raised  to 
enforce  silence. 

In  the  second  Stage  we  halted.  The  young  gentleman 
opened  a  door  there,  showed  us  in,  and  with  a  friendly  nod 
withdrew,  closing  the  door  noiselessly  behind  us. 

A  deadly  tremor  suddenly  came  over  me.  At  home  I 
had  been  convinced  that  my  father  did  not  want  me;  that 
I  was  simply  a  burden  he  would  gladly  think  of  as  safely 
settled  in  the  haide.  The  universal  astonishment  my 
appearance  created  here  tended  to  convince  me  that  he 
had  never  by  one  syllable  acknowledged  his  child's  exist- 
ence. And  now,  there  I  stood  in  his  very  room,  impor- 
tuning him,  as  it  were,  and  looking  into  that  world  in 
which  he  lived  and  moved  with  terrified  eyes.  And  how 
strange  and  incredible  all  around  me  seemed!  The  walls 
of  the  room  into  which  we  had  been  ushered  were  covered 
from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling  with  books;  as  many  books, 
it  appeared  to  rne,  as  there  were  heather  blossoms  on  the 
haide.  There  was  only  room  left  for  four  windows,  hung 
with  green  curtains,  and  for  two  doors.  The  door  to  the 
left  stood  Avide  open  and  led  into  another  large  room  with 
a  skylight.  Through  a  high  dome-like  ceiling  the  sun's 
rays  came  pouring  down  on  a  long  row  of  portraits  of  men; 
on  one  threatening-looking  manly  form  swinging  a  club, 
but  also  on  some  lovely  female  portraits  clothed  in  soft 
rich  garments. 

In  one  of  the  window-niches  stood  a  writing-table,  at 
which  sat  a  gentleman  writing.  He  had  not  remarked  our 
entrance,  for  while  we  hesitated  a  moment  before  advanc- 
ing the  scratching  of  the  quill  never  ceased.  It  caused 
me  a  nervous  shudder.  I  know  not  whether  it  was  the 
and  u<*velfy  of  our  position  or  a  similar  feeling 


72        THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

to  that  which  oppressed  me,  viz.,  fear  of  my  father,  but 
Use,  the  strong-minded,  decided  Use,  actually  hesitated 
one  moment;  but  recovering  herself  immediately  she  took 
my  hand,  and  leading  me  to  the  window  said : 

"Good-morning  to  you,  sir.     Here  we  are." 

To  me  it  seemed  as  if  this  sonorous  but  slightly  trem- 
bling voice  echoed  like  thunder  against  those  silent  walls. 

My  father  raised  his  head  from  among  the  heap  of 
papers  surrounding  him  and  stared  at  us;  then,  as  if  elec- 
trified, bounded  up  from  his  chair. 

"Use!"  he  exclaimed  in  unmistakable  alarm. 

"Yes,  sir."  she  replied  quietly.  "It  is  Use;  and  thatis 
your  only  child,  whom  you  have  not  set  your  eyes  on  for 
the  last  fourteen  years — a  pretty  long  while.  Small  won- 
der if  you  passed  each  other  without  recognizing  one  an- 
other." 

He  was  silent  and  passed  his  hand  over  his  forehead,  as 
if  it  cost  him  a  tremendous  effort  to  collect  himself  and 
remember  what  brought  us  there.  He  pushed  back  my 
hat  very  gently  and  looked  at  me,  while  I,  with  some 
inward  alarm,  thought  to  myself  I  had  never  seen  such  a 
thin,  hollow  face  as  his;  but  he  had  my  grandmother's 
fine  eyes. 

"So  you  are  Lenore?"  he  said  softly,  kissing  me  on  the 
forehead.  "She  is  small,  Use,"  he  said,  "smaller  even 
than  my  wife  was" — and  he  sighed.  "How  old  is  the 
child?" 

"Seventeen,  sir.     I  wrote  you  that  twice  already." 

"Ah,  so,"  he  replied,  again  rubbing  his  forehead  and 
then  clasping  his  hands.  He  was  the  very  picture  of  a 
man  who  had  been  wakened  suddenly  from  a  dream  to 
some  startling  reality. 

"You  must  be  tired,  my  child.  Excuse  me  for  having 
kept  you  so  long  standing,"  he  said,  addressing  me  in  a 
tone  of  the  most  finished  politeness.  In  the  middle  of  the 
room  stood  a  table  heavily  laden  with  books  and  papers. 
My  father  pushed  two  of  the  arm-chairs  which  stood  round 
it  toward  us. 

"Take  care,  my  dear  Use,  I  beg  of  you,"  he  exclaimed 
in  great  alarm  as  she  unsuspiciously  set  her  knitting- 
basket  down  on  an  open  sheet  of  paper.  His  thin  hands 
trembled  as  he  carefully  removed  the  basket,  and  no 
mother  ever  gazed  at  a  sick  darling  with  deeper  anxiety 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  73 

than  my  father  at  that  apparently  worn-out  old  paper 
after  he  had  freed  it  from  this  unusual  disturbance. 

I  looked  at  Use.  She  did  not  move  a  muscle,  evidently 
already  acquainted  with  this  peculiarity  of  my  father's. 

"Come,  rest  yourself  a  little,"  he  said,  remarking  that 
I  hesitated  in  taking  a  seat,  "and  by  and  by  we  will  ad- 
journ to  the  hotel." 

"To  the  hotel,  sir!"  repeated  Use  coolly.  "What 
should  the  child  do  at  a  hotel?  It  would  cost  you  a  pretty 
sum  in  the  course  of  two  years " 

"Two  years!"  reechoed  my  father  "What  are  you 
talking  of,  Use?" 

"i  am  only  speaking  of  what  for  the  last  ten  years  I 
have  incessantly  written  about.  We  are  here  bag  and 
baggage,  and,  once  for  all,  I  will  not  allow  the  child  to  be 
sent  back  to  the  haide  to  run  wild  again.  Just  look  at 
her.  She  can  scarcely  read,  much  less  write.  She  can 
climb  trees  and  look  for  nests,  but  sew  an  ordinary  seam 
or  knit  the  heel  of  a  stocking  she  cannot.  I  have  tried 
with  all  my  might  to  teach  her,  but  could  not;  and  she 
runs  away  at  sight  of  a  human  face  as  if  it  were  that  of 
a  cut-throat,  unable  even  to  say  'good-morning.'  And  that 
is  Herr  von  Sassen's  only  child !  Why,  your  wife  would 
turn  in  her  grave  if  she  only  knew  it." 

It  did  not  occur  to  my  father  even  at  this  flattering  de- 
scription to  inspect  my  small  person,  but  he  ran  his  hands 
through  his  hair  and  exclaimed  in  absolute  despair: 

"That  may  be  all  quite  right  and  true,  but  I  ask  you, 
Use,  what  can  I  do  with  the  child?" 

Up  to  this  I  had  listened  to  the  conversation  silent  and 
unconcerned,  but  now  I  rose  and  exclaimed,  "How  dread- 
ful all  this  is!"  my  voice  trembling  the  while  with  pain 
and  agitation.  "Father,  don't  trouble  yourself.  I  will 
not  appear  before  you  again.  I  will  return  at  once  to  the 
haide,  and  if  need  be  run  there  every  foot  of  the  way. 
Heinz  is  there  and  will  be  delighted  at  my  return,  and  I 
will  be  industrious  now,  my  father,  you  may  rely  on  it.  I 
will  sew  and  knit.  You  shall  see,  I  will  never,  never  more 
be  a  burden  to  you." 

"Be  quiet,  child,"  said  Use,  standing  up  quickly,  but 
overcome  with  tears. 

I  was  already  in  my  father's  arms!  He  took  my  hat  off, 
threw  it  on  the  ground,  and  drew  my  head  gently  on  hia 
bosom. 


74        THE  PRINGE8S  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"No,  no,  my  child,  my  poor  little  Lorchen;  that  was 
not  what  I  meant,"  he  said  caressingly.  Strange  to  say, 
my  words  were  the  first  thing  which  seemed  to  put  liim 
rightly  in  possession  of  the  subject.  "You  shall  just  stay 
with  me.  Use,  isn't  her  voice  just  that  of  my  wife  over 
again?  Hasn't  it  just  the  same  silver  bell-like  tone?  No, 
she  shall  stay  with  me — she  shall  not  return  to  the  haide  ; 
but,  good  Use,  how  am  I  to  set  about  it?  I  am  only  a 
guest  here  myself  for  an  uncertain  time.  How  can  I  set 
about  it?" 

"Let  me  settle  that,  sir,"  replied  Use.  She  had  re- 
covered all  her  fluency.  "I  can  spare  a  week  from  the 
Dierkhof  quite  well,  even  if  Heinz  does  make  some 
blunders  in  the  mean  while,  and  I  will  arrange  everything. 
Besides,  the  child  didn't  come  empty-handed." 

She  drew  a  packet  out  of  her  basket  and  handed  it  to 
my  father;  it  was  my  grandmother's  will. 

I  raised  my  head  from  his  breast  and  delivered  the  last 
farewell  message  of  the  departed. 

"I  hope  she  did  not  die  out  of  her  mind,  my  poor 
mother?" 

"No,"  replied  Use.  "She  was  as  much  in  her  senses  as 
in  her  best  days,  and  set  her  house  in  order  before  she  left 
the  world.  Just  read  that.  The  lawyer,  indeed,  was  not 
present,  but  she  thought  you  would  respect  her  last  will 
as  much " 

"Of  course,  of  course." 

He  unfolded  the  paper  and  ran  his  eye  over  the  first  few 
lines. 

"I  am  glad  of  that,  Use.  The  Dierkhof  belongs  to  you 
now  as  a  right." 

"Do  you  really  mean  that,  sir?  Well,  indeed,  if  I  were 
in  your  place  I  should  just  think,  'Aha,  then  Use  just  bore 
with  the  old  lady  that  she  might  sneak  into  favor  and  so 
get  the  nice  place  left  her.'  " 

"That  never  occurred  to  me." 

"But  it  did  to  me — and  I  will  not  have  the  Dierkhof; 
with  your  permission,  that  belongs  to  the  little  one.  She 
must  have  a  refuge,  a  spot  of  earth  to  retire  to  if  the 
world  does'not  please  her.  If  I  can  remain  at  the  Dierk- 
hof, and  that  you  will  let  me  keep  it  in  order  for  the  rest 
of  my  days,  that  is  more  than  enough.  I  would  have 
torn  the  paper  in  pieces  the  very  moment  my  poor  mis» 
resa  closed  her  eyes,  but  that  there  was  more," 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR.  75 

My  father  read  on. 

"What!  she  had  some  remains  of  her  fortune  still!"  he 
exclaimed  in  the  greatest  amazement.  "You  always 
wrote  that  my  mother  lived  entirely  on  her  pension  and 
on  the  scanty  produce  of  the  Dierkhof." 

"And  it  was  the  pure  truth,  sir.  At  first  a  few  extra 
thalers  found  their  way  in,  but  I  know  next  to  nothing  of 
such  matters,  and  from  the  time  my  mistress  ceased  to 
write  her  own  letters  not  a  penny  ever  came  in.  It  was 
the  doctor  first  explained  to  me  that  the  little  printed 
document  must  be  cut  off  and  sent  in  and  then  the  in- 
terest will  be  paid." 

"Did  you  bring  the  papers  with  you?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  she  replied,  with  sudden  embarrassment  and 
reluctance.  "But,  sir,  this  I  must  say,  they  must  not  be 
disposed  of  in  the  same  manner"-— and  she  nodded  signifi- 
cantly at  the  offending  apartment— "as  those  great  packets 
of  money  which  my  mistress  used  to  send  you  from  Han- 
over." 

My  father's  sunken  cheeks  flushed  and  his  eyes  fell  as 
though  he  had  been  detected  in  some  guilty  act. 

"No,  no,"  he  answered  quickly.  "Don't  be  anxious 
on  that  point.  The  money  belongs  to  Lenore." 

"And  you  will  pat  it  by  carefully,  and  every  quarter- 
day " 

"Oh,  Use,  only  not  that,"  he  broke  in,  horrified.  "I 
cannot  possibly  meddle  with  money  matters,  my  vocation 
occupies  me  so  exclusively." 

"Ah,  don't  vex  yourself  about  that,  sir,"  she  replied, 
trying  to  calm  him ;  "that  will  all  come  right."  It  did 
not  escape  me  that  she  seemed  to  breathe  freely  once  more. 
"But  now,  how  are  we  to  manage?  We  cannot  well  stay 
in  this  great  room.  I  see  neither  drawers  nor  press " 

"I  will  conduct  you  to  my  own  apartments  immediately. 
Just  one  moment,  while  I  finish  this  manuscript." 

He  returned  to  his  writing-table  and  began  rummaging 
among  the  papers,  with  his  head  bent  in  an  attitude  of 
reflection.  He  passed  his  hand  at  the  same  time  over  his 
forehead  and  stroked  his  thin,  already  gray  beard;  finally 
he  sank  down  in  the  arm-hair,  and  in  a  few  minutes  after 
I  heard  the  pen  scratching. 

Use,  meantime,  had  stepped  into  the  next  room,  and  I 
followed  her.  I  can  just  imagine  what  a  figure  we  two 


76  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

must  have  out  in  the  midst  of  those  antiquities,  and  I  still 
distinctly  remember  my  first  impressions  of  those  art 
treasures,  of  which  I  did  not  even  know  the  name.  They 
lay  scatttred  about,  evidently  waiting  to  be  arranged. 
Marble  statues  might  be  seen  here  and  there  partially  un- 
packed; Pompeian  bronzes  stood  on  the  tables  and  antique 
terra-cottas — broken  clay  things  painted  in  colors  which  I 
thought  unworthy  even  of  a  glance — lay  on  the  floor.  In 
fact,  damaged  articles  certainly  were  in  preponderance. 
On  the  top  of  an  unopened  box  lay  a  female  figure  without 
hands  or  feet — what  did  I  know  about  a  torso ! 

"Can  one  imagine  it  possible,"  grumbled  Use  indig- 
nantly, almost  fiercely,  "that  nearly  half  the  Jacobsohn 
fortune  lies  buried  in  that  broken  trash?" 

It  certainly  seemed  inconceivable.  But  just  then  I 
stood  chained  to  the  spot  and  experienced  the  first  faint 
emotions  of  the  magic  power  which  art  exercises  over  the 
soul.  Leaning  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree  lay  a  youth; 
his  left  arm  was  raised  and  clasped  round  an  offshoot  from 
the  stem,  thereby  displaying  his  limbs,  which  were  grad- 
ually yielding  to  a  gentle  sleep.  I  gazed  for  one  moment 
on  the  beautiful  face:  the  lips  were  parted  and  I  fancied 
I  could  see  the  breath  passing  from  them ;  the  half -closed 
eyelids  were  quivering  in  the  combat  with  sleep,  and  in 
the  disengaged  thin  but  muscular  hand  the  delicate  veins 
were  distinctly  visible  under  the  yellow  skin — life,  hidden 
life,  was  actually  beating  there.  I  drew  back. 

"You  are  surely  not  afraid,  child!"  said  Use.  "It  is 
gloomy  enough,  indeed — but  just  look  at  your  father.  I 
do  believe  he  has  totally  forgotten  we  are  here." 

Just  then  a  knock  came  to  the  door;  my  father  never 
heard  it,  but  wrote  on.  At  a  repetition  of  the  knocking 
Use  called  out  loud,  "Come  in."  Just  as  at  our  entry, 
he  started  up  and  looked  irresolutely  at  the  servant  in 
livery  who  had  just  entered  and  was  approaching  the 
writing-table  respectfully. 

"His  highness  the  duke  sends  his  compliments  to  Herr 
von  Sassen,  and  requests  the  pleasure  of  nis  company  at  a 
conference  this  afternoon  at  five  o'clock  in  the  yellow 
chamber,"  said  the  servant,  bowing  low. 

"Ah,  so,"  said  my  father,  running  his  hands  through 
his  hair.  "I  am  always  at  the  duke's  service." 

The  servant  glided  noiselessly  out  again. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  77 

"We  are  here  still,  sir,"  called  out  Use  as  he  proceeded 
to  settle  himself  afresh. 

I  could  not  help  laughing  to  myself,  but  a  great  weight 
had  been  lifted  off  my  heart,  for  I  began  to  understand 
my  father.  It  was  not  from  hardness  of  heart  or  indiffer- 
ence that  he  had  forgotten  his  mother  and  me — it  was 
that  he  lived  in  a  different  world.  Now  I  felt  sure  of  his 
love  so  long  as  distance  did  not  come  between  us;  and  the 
chief  thing  at  present  was  to  overcome  the  nervous 
timidity  I  felt  and  to  cease  to  be  afraid  of  the^  sound  of 
my  own  voice. 

"Father,"  said  I  as  courageously  as  ever  my  model  Use 
did,  and  pointing  to  the  sleeping  boy  while  he  advanced 
toward  us  with  ridiculous  embarrassment,  "you  will  not 
laugh  at  me?  But  that  boy  must  waken  or  take  his  arm 
down  from  the  bough — the  life-blood  really  is  there." 

"I  laugh  at  you,  my  little  Lorchen!"  he  exclaimed,  evi- 
dently overjoyed.  "Why,  you  have  exactly  hit  upon  my 
pearl,  my  treasure."  And  he  stroked  the  yellow  marble 
more  tenderly  than  he  had  done  my  hair.  "Look  at  it  well, 
child;  it  is  a  noble  work,  bearing  even  a  close  resemblance 
to  the  masterpiece  of  the  Almigh  ty !  There  is  but  one  such 
in  the  whole  world,  and  that  is  here,  here!  What  a  dis- 
covery !  Heaven  knows  how  the  dealer  came  by  it.  But 
this  house  contains  inexhaustible  treasures,  and  where  do 
you  think  I  found  them?  Precisely  where  this  priceless 
treasure  came  to  light  yesterday:  in  the  corners  and  nooks 
of  the  cellars,  where  they  have  lain  at  least  forty  years, 
forgotten  and  unpacked — an  irreparable  loss  to  science! 
Oh,  those  dealers,  those  dealers!" 

All  this  did  not  sound  exactly  as  if  addressed  to  me,  the 
child  of  the  haide,  who  was  casting  my  first  timid  glance 
into  the  domain  of  art  and  science;  still,  his  conversation 
was  far  more  intelligible  to  me  than  that  of  the  professor 
on  the  hill,  and  the  unexpected  discovery  at  the  dealer's 
became  suddenly  invested  in  my  eyes  with  the  same  charm 
as  the  mystery  of  the  giants'  sepulchers. 

Use  kept  looking  sideways  at  me  with  an  expression  tan- 
tamount to  saying,  "So,  she  is  beginning  now,"  but  she 
swallowed  any  such  observation  and  went,  as  was  her 
custom,  directly  to  the  pcint. 

Pointing  to  her  dusty  feet  she  said : 

"I  should  like  to  take  of!  my  boots,  and  if  I  could  get  a 
glass  of  fresh  water  I  should  be  very  glad,  sir." 


•ft  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

He  smiled,  locked  his  desk,  and  took  us  downstairs  at 
once.  Passing  by,  we  saw  into  a  room,  where  a  prettj 
girl  in  a  white  apron  was  dusting  the  furniture. 

"Fraulein  Fliedner  has  had  two  rooms  prepared  for 
Fraulein  von  Sassen,"  said  she  respectfully  to  my  father. 
I  laughed  in  her  very  face;  the  "guadige  Fraulein  von 
Sassen"  had  but  yesterday  taken  her  leave  of  the  Dierkhof 
barefooted.  "The  master  is  indeed  gone  to  Dorotheen- 
thai/'  she  continued,  "and  Fraulein  Fliedner  does  not 
know  how  he  may  wish  things  arranged  when  he  comes 
back,  but  she  has  made  temporary  arrangements  for  what 
is  necessary;  and  I  have  also  been  desired  to  lay  two  more 
covers  and  bring  two  additional  portions  from  the  hotel." 

My  father  thanked  her  and  showed  us  into  his  very 
elegant  sitting-room. 

Shall  I  relate  how  strangely  that  feminine  instinct  within 
the  wild,  untutored  child  now  began  to  dawn?  The  sud- 
den wakening  of  the  thousand  tender  feelings  of  a 
maiden  heart  as  soon  as  tender  duties  call  it  forth?  My 
hitherto  miserably  awkward,  much-abused  hands  helped 
the  potatoes  at  dinner  and,  if  still  somewhat  shyly,  laid 
them  on  my  father's  plate;  when  the  sun  annoyed  him, 
shining  full  in  his  face,  I  sprang  up  and  drew  down  the 
blind,  and  when  at  the  end  of  an  hour  he  prepared  to 
return  to  his  beloved  library,  I  called  after  him  to  remem- 
ber the  duke's  invitation  for  five  o'clock  and  inquired  if  I 
might  run  up  and  remind  him  of  it. 

He  turned  round  at  the  door  with  beaming  eyes. 

"Use,  I  thank  you,"  he  called  back.  "In  my  child  you 
have  restored  to  me  the  happy  days  when  my  little  wife 
was  near  me.  Lorchen,  come  up  punctually  at  five  o'clock. 
I  am  sometimes  a  little  absent,  and  it  has  even  happened, 
unfortunately  too  often,  that  an  invitation  has  entirely 
escaped  my  memory." 

He  went  off. 

"Things  are  coming  all  right,"  said  Use,  thoroughly 
contented  and  stroking  the  elbows  of  her  jacket  smooth. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  79 


XL 

THE  room  which  Fraulein  Fliedner  had  temporarily 
prepared  for  me  lay  next  those  of  my  father,  and  a  bed- 
room adjoined  it.  It  formed  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
house  and  had  two  windows  with  heavy,  though  somewhat 
faded,  yellow  curtains  of  damask.  It  contained  a  bed 
covered  with  a  yellow  quilted  silk  plumeau,  newly  sheeted 
bolsters  and  pillows,  an  elegant  toilet-table,  also*  hung  in 
yellow,  and  against  the  wall  stood  a  small  inlaid  wooden 
press  supported  on  slight  ornamental  feet. 

"That  bed  is  of  no  use,"  said  Use,  seizing  our  own  care- 
fully stitched-up  bags  in  her  powerful  arms  and  dragging 
them  over  the  door-sill.  "We  ha.ve  beds  ourselves,  and 
such  beds!"  She  emptied  the  bedstead  at  once  of  its 
elegant  bedding,  covering  herself  thereby  with  the  soft 
down  she  so  despised.  "How  awkward  that  is!"  she  ex- 
claimed suddenly,  surveying  the  tiny  apartment.  "The 
bed  stands  exactly  so  as  to  place  you  in  the  draught  from 
the  window,  while  that  little  press  occupies  the  snuggest 
corner  in  the  room.  Here,  child,  lend  a  hand — I  must 
move  it." 

We  pushed  the  press  to  one  side.  Use  threw  up  her 
hands,  exclaiming: 

"Mercy  on  me!  silk  hangings  everywhere,  and  behind 
the  press  cobwebs  and  dust  enough  to  stifle  one.  That  is 
nice  housekeeping!" 

It  reminded  me  of  the  boxes  downstairs  which  had  lain 
forgotten  forty  years;  the  spiders  galloping  about  on  every 
side  had  doubtless  been  as  long  undisturbed  behind  the 
press.  In  addition,  however,  to  the  masses  of  dust  and 
long-legged  abominations,  a  small,  almost  invisible  door 
came  to  light.  Use  opened  it  without  further  ado;  a  very 
narrow  passage,  scarcely  two  feet  in  breadth,  with  steep 
stairs,  led  to  an  upper  story. 

"There  was  a  reason,  then,"  said  Use,  "for  the  press 
standing  there,"  and  she  closed  the  door.  "We  must 
replace  it." 

She  set  off  in  search  of  a  sweeping-brush  and  dust-pan. 
And  I — I  softy  opened  the  door  once  more.  Who  lived 
up  there?  Perhaps  that  handsome  Charlotte?  I  did  not 
I u tend  to  be  inquisitive  or  to  have  listened — not  at  all; 


80  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Use  couldn't  for  her  life  endure  that.  Bnt  before  I  was 
myself  aware  of  it  my  willful  feet  were  on  the  top  step.  I 
stretched  out  my  neck  as  far  as  I  possibly  could,  stood  on 
my  tip-toes,  and  gazed  and  listened  into  the  darkness  which 
filled  the  room  beyond  with  all  my  might.  Oh,  my  feet 
danced  with  the  desire  to  slip  in  further!  Use  would 
have  been  astonished.  I  was  as  curious  as  a  magpie.  It 
was  no  doubt  very  dark  around  and  I  was  afraid  of  ghosts; 
but  behind  me  the  consolatory  daylight  streamed  in.  and 
in  the  absolute  certainty  that  Charlotte  lived  overhead,  I 
mounted  step  after  step.  Near  that  merry,  powerful 
young  lady  no  ghost  would  venture  to  abide. 

Suddenly  a  faint  streak  of  light  appeared  just  on  a  level 
with  my  eyes;  it  proceeded  from  a  chink  in  a  door  which 
corresponded  precisely  with  the  one  below. 

Perhaps  Charlotte  might  be  sitting  within  at  the  win- 
dow, and  I  might  be  able,  unobserved,  to  steal  a  glance  at 
her  handsome  face,  at  those  splendid  masses  of  hair  coiled 
round  the  back  of  her  head. 

Noiselessly,  as  I  imagined,  did  I  open  the  door,  but,  oh 
me,  what  an  abominable  noise  of  creaking  and  rustling 
ensued;  the  unfortunate  door  groaned  as  though  it  had 
never  been  oiled  since  the  year  one.  I  let  go  the  handle, 
and  in  doing  so  had  very  nearly  fallen  backward  down 
the  stairs,  but  the  door  fell  slowly  back  and  disclosed  an 
empty  chamber.  A  black  silk  cloak  was  hanging  against 
the  door  and  had  helped  to  cause  the  rustling. 

The  walls  were  hung  with  rose-colored  gauze,  and  it 
looked  to  me  just  as  if  the  first  faint  streaks  of  dawn,  such 
as  I  had  often  rejoiced  over  in  the  haide,  were  stealing  in. 
Bouquets  of  roses  lay  everywhere  strewn  around;  on  the 
soft  gray  carpet,  on  the  small  embroidered  chairs — on  all 
these;  they  were,  indeed,  but  the  ghosts  of  roses,  so  com- 
pletely had  the  sun  robbed  them  of  their  color.  Near  one 
of  the  windows  stood  a  dressing-table  with  silver  appurte- 
nances; with  that  exception  and  the  chairs  there  was  no 
furniture  in  the  room.  I  entered  cautiously.  Pugh! 
there  had  been  no  cleaning  there  either  for  many  a  long 
day.  "Nice  housekeeping!"  Use  would  have  repeated 
there.  And  was  it  possible  Charlotte  really  felt  comfort- 
able in  that  dusty,  stifling  atmosphere?  A  door  to  the 
left  stood  wide  open,  and  my  eye  fell  on  two  beds  placed 
near  each  other  under  a  dark  violet  canopy.  Near  one  of 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  ftifi  MOOR.  81 

tbo  beds  stood  a  cradle  filled  with  pillows,  over  which  was 
thrown  a  green  veil.  Curious!  who  could  be  living  there? 
Silence,  deep,  death-like  silence  pervaded  the  darkened 
chamber;  here  not  alone  were  the  blinds  down,  but  the 
curtains  also  were  closely  drawn  and  all  had  such  an  air  of 
want  of  use.  Suddenly  an  idea  occurred  to  me — the 
family  were  traveling. 

For  one  moment  my  untrained  conscience  whispered  to 
me  that  my  little  person  had  no  business  whatever  there; 
but  what  of  that?  I  would  not  take  as  much  as  a  pin's 
point  of  their  beautiful  things — I  would  not  lay  the  tip  of 
my  finger  on  them,  and  still  further,  that  no  damage 
might  be  done  to  the  carpets  I  slipped  off  my  nailed  shoes 
and  went  in  my  stockings. 

It  was  delightful  to  steal  a  peep  into  this  strange  dwell- 
ing, filled  as  it  was  with  fabulous  splendor.  I  felt  just  as 
if  I  were  in  Frau  Holle's  little  castle  full  of  silk  and  velvet, 
gold  and  silver.  There  was  dust  enough  to  clean  away 
and  beds  enough  to  shake  up.  I  wandered  on  alone 
through  rooms  and  saloons  totally  deserted.  If  one  of  the 
monster  spiders  in  the  corners  had  fallen  on  the  ground  I 
should  have  heard  it.  That  would  have  been  something 
for  Heinz.  How  he  would  have  run!  But  I  was  not 
afraid — not  in  the  very  least,  and  if  Frau  Holle  had  really 
been  sitting  in  the  next  room  in  her  great  easy-chair,  with 
her  great  long  teeth,  I  should  just  have  walked  up  to  her 
boldly  and  made  my  courtesy.  It  would  not  have  required 
much  courage  for  that — no,  not  for  that,  bat — all  at  once 
I  screamed  aloud  so  that  the  walls  rang  again  and  hid  my 
face  in  my  hands.  I  had  just  opened  a  door  and  I  was 
not  alone,  but  it  was  not  Frau  Holle  who  sat  within.  A 
little  black  creature  was  advancing  toward  me  from  the 
opposite  door. 

Just  as  a  month  previously  I  had  stood  on  the  hill  near 
the  supposed  Phenician,  literally  turned  to  a  statue  with 
amazement,  so  did  I  now;  only  on  this  occasion  it  was 
with  shame  and  embarrassment.  The  rooms  were  not 
uninhabited. 

How  could  I  possibly  excuse  myself  to  the  strangers 
that  were  now,  no  doubt,  approaching?  I  awaited  them 
with  a  beating  heart.  I  thought  every  moment  they 
would  remove  my  hands  from  my  face  and  begin  to  speak 
to  me,  but  the  death-like  silence  continued }  not  a  foot- 


82  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

fall  sounded  on  the  floor  and  the  door  opposite  remained 
unshut.  With  a  desperate  effort  I  brought  this  horrible 
uncertainty  to  an  end  and  looked  up.  The  little  black 
figure  was  standing  exactly  as  before,  just  removing  two 
brown  hands  from  her  face  and  then  throwing  back  a 
mass  of  wild  dark  hair  over  her  shoulders — exactly  what  I 
was  doing  myself;  and  now  I  laughed — laughed  with  all 
my  heart.  Was  I  really  the  scare-crow  I  looked  yonder? 
I  must  examine  closer. 

The  room  was  lined  with  mirrors;  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling  was  pure  glass.  How  astonished  it  might  have  felt 
at  the  extraordinary  apparition  which  was  reflected  from 
every  side!  So,  then,  that  was  the  haide  princess  which 
had  been  presented  to  the  young  lady  to-day  as  the  timid 
little  lizard  with  the  tiny  princess'  coronet  marked  on  its 
forehead!  Oh,  Use,  how  dreadful  were  those  far-famed 
stockings  knitted  of  the  haide  wool  in  which  my  feet  were 
incased,  and  of  which  a  whole  trunkful  lay  downstairs 
packed  up  by  your  own  busy  hands.  I  was  expected  to 
wear  them  all  thoroughly;  but  what  unshaken  health, 
what  a  long  life  would  be  required  for  that!  And  my 
father  had  actually  embraced  that  little  monster  and  de- 
cided on  keeping  it  with  him  as  the  "gnadige  Fraulein 
von  Sassen."  He  had  not  noticed  how  ridiculous  the  red 
ears  had  looked,  peeping  up  from  the  huge  stiff  cravat, 
to  disappear  again  as  suddenly?  It  had  not  struck  him 
that  pthe  enormous  flowers  on  the  black  dress,  which  on 
my  grandmother's  tall  form  might  once  have  looked  im- 
posing, on  my  tiny  bosom  formed  a  perfect  shield  of  de- 
fense? I  shook  back  my  locks,  laughing  like  mad,  and 
proceeded  on  my  explorations. 

The  next  room  I  entered  ran  the  whole  length  of  the 
house,  and  on  the  north  and  west  sides  had  three  im- 
mensely large  glass  doors,  which  led  into  the  open  air. 
They  were  hung  with  blue.  On  the  north  side  the  color 
had  held  fast,  but  to  the  south  it  had  turned  into  a  dirty 
white.  Here  human  life  seemed  breathing  from  every 
wall.  Rosy,  plump  little  children,  with  medals  in  their 
hands,  were  looking  roguishly  at  me,  and  lovely  female 
forms  were  showering  down  a  perfect  rain  of  flowers  from 
the  ceiling.  Gold  was  profusely  intermingled  with  the 
painting  and  with  moldings  of  carved  wood  and  ara- 
besques, The  furniture  was  white,  picked  out  in  gold  and 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  83 

upholstered  in  blue  silk.  It  was  a  state  room,  yet  evidently 
used  as  a  comfortable  ladies'  boudoir.  The  furniture 
filled  every  corner  and  was  pushed  about  carelessly,  and 
before  the  center  door  stood  a  large  writing-table.  It  was 
covered  with  china  figures  and  all  kinds  of  elegant  things 
which  I  did  not  know  the  use  of.  I  also  saw  a  silver 
thing  for  writing,  an  artistic  work  of  leaves  on  which 
stood  an  inkstand.  On  one  of  the  leaves,  arms,  surmounted 
by  a  coronet,  were  engraved,  and  before  the  writing- 
materials  lay  also  some  paper  stamped  with  a  crest  on 
which  a  delicate  female  hand  had  been  trying  a  pen,  and 
an  innumerable  number  of  times  stood  the  characters, 
"Sidonie,  Princess  of  K.,"  and  here  and  there  between  the 
names  of  Claudius  and  Lothar. 

I  drew  back.  Could  those,  indeed,  be  actually  princely 
rooms?  Was  it  possible  a  real  princess  had  written  with  the 
elegant  gold  pen  so  carelessly  thrown  down  there?  Had  her 
delicate  feet  trod  the  polished  floors  over  which  my  coarse 
stockings  had  been  tramping?  Had  a  woman's  face  gazed 
out  of  those  glass  doors?  A  painful  shyness  suddenly 
crept  over  me.  I  no  longer  tore  at  the  handle  of  the 
adjoining  roomdoor,  but  with  trembling  hands  fumbled  at 
the  keyhole,  through  which  I  took  a  glance.  Outside 
were  the  handsome  stairs  which  the  young  gentleman  had 
brought  us  up  yesterday.  So,  then,  I  was  actually  standing 
behind  one  of  those  doors  that  bore  the  great  seal  with 
which  the  princess  had  sought  to  exclude  every  intruder 
during  her  absence.  And  yet  even  that  had  not  availed, 
for  there  I  stood,  my  inquisitive  eyes  inspecting  every- 
thing which  had  purposely  been  shut  up  from  strangers' 
gaze. 

"That  is  the  same  as  stealing,"  Use  had  said  on  discov- 
ering that  I  had  read  another  person's  letter.  And  was 
not  my  tarrying  here  just  the  same  as  peering  uninvited 
into  another's  secret  or  breaking  one  of  the  seals  on  the 
door?  I  tried  to  assume  a  severe  aspect,  but  I  could  not 
scold  half  so  well  as  Use,  and  my  scruples  of  conscience 
were  not  very  deep.  On  the  contrary,  I  experienced  a 
mysterious  delight  in  thinking  that  the  doors  were  fast 
sealed,  and  that  not  a  living  creature,  with  the  exception, 
perhaps,  of  an  impertinent  fly  that  had  slipped  through 
some  keyhole,  could  move  about  here  but  myself — myself 
alone  1 


84  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

And  now  I  thought  I  should  like  to  try  how  the  lovely 
princess  had  felt  when  she  looked  through  those  glass 
doors.  I  pushed  back  one  of  the  hangings  and  saw  some- 
thing like  a  small  cabinet  in  the  open  air,  but  without 
roof  or  cover — I  had  never  before  seen  a  balcony — and  I 
thought  how  delightful  it  must  be  to  step  at  once  into  the 
fresh  air,  out  of  the  hot  rooms,  raised  at  that  height  from 
the  ground. 

The  pond  lay  beneath;  the  deep  blue  sky  of  the  sum- 
mer afternoon  was  reflected  in  the  calm  water;  in  the 
middle  stood  grotesque  stone  figures,  as  if  supported  on  a 
blue  velvet  ground.  The  soft  greensward,  the  slender 
figures  in  stone  irradiated  by  the  sunlight,  the  gravel 
walks  which  surrounded  the  pond  and,  intersecting  the 
grass  plots,  extended  far  into  the  wood — all  this  looked 
very  pretty,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  thick  green  curtains 
which  inclosed  it  so  stiflingly ;  those  masses  of  trees  which 
the  eye  could  not  surmount,  which  oppressed  breathing, 
and  which  even  strove  yonder,  toward  the  hills,  to  shut 
out  the  very  sky.  Was  the  beautiful  princess  not  afraid 
that  all  these  trees  might  one  day  approach  nearer  and 
nearer  and  finally  inclose  both  her  and  the  little  castle  in 
their  green  arms?  How  much  more  home-like  was  my 
own  dear,  level  haide,  with  its  strong,  wild  rush  of  wind 
which  could  roam  where  it  would! 

Perhaps  on  the  balcony  out  there  one  might  be  able  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  country  beyond  through  a  break  in 
the  trees.  I  was  bold  and  giddy  enough  to  turn  the  key 
in  the  door  and  to  open  it  about  a  hand's  breadth;  the 
sultry  summer  air  came  in,  bringing  with  it  a  delicious 
perfume  from  the  garden.  I  might  put  my  head  out,  at 
all  events  for  a  moment.  Just  as  I  did  so,  who  should  I 
behold  coming  out  of  the  copse  opposite  but  Use,  shoulder- 
ing an  immense  broom.  I  banged  the  door  to,  ran  like 
one  possessed  back  through  the  rooms,  put  on  my  shoes, 
and  flew  down  the  stairs.  I  had  just  shut  the  little  door 
and  thrown  myself  in  as  careless  an  attitude  as  I  could 
assume  on  a  chair,  when  Use  came  back. 

"I've  had  to  go  off  to  the  yard  yonder,"  she  said,  "be- 
fore I  could  find  a  broom.  This  house  is  just  like  one 
bewitched — closed  doors,  where  you  peep  m  and  never 
see  a  human  being,  and  a  pretty  trouble  I've  had!  The 
housemaid  would  not  give  me  th«  sweeping-brush  from 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  85 

pure  respect.  This  infamous  Sunday  bonnet!  Fd  like 
never  to  put  it  on  again.  It  was  all  along  of  it." 

She  swept  every  speck  of  dust  off  the  door  most  care- 
fully, turned  the  key  in  it  twice,  and  pushed  the  press 
back  against  it.  Then  she  proceeded  to  rip  open  the  bags 
containing  our  feather-beds  and  to  pile  them  up  in  the 
elegant  bedstead  one  on  top  of  the  other.  Oh,  how  badly 
the  red-and-white  covers  looked  near  the  yellow  damask, 
and  how  small  and  thin  did  the  fine  cast-aside  linen  appear 
in  comparison  with  my  sheets,  whose  every  thread  I  could 
count  at  a  considerable  distance. 

But  Use  looked  on  proudly  at  the  work  of  her  hands;  it 
was  stout  and  durable — that  could  not  be  denied. 

"Early  to-morrow  morning  we  will  go  to  the  front 
house/'  said  she  to  me,  meanwhile  laying  out  a  fresh 
white  collar  on  the  dressing-table.  "From  what  your 
father  said  of  them  this  morning  they  must  be  sensible 
people." 

I  pondered  over  this  sentence  in  vain.  My  father  had 
only  expressed  his  indignation  at  the  neglected  boxes  and 
had  called  the  "sensible  people"  dealers. 

"Perhaps  I  might  speak  to  the  master  himself  about 
you,"  she  continued. 

"For  pity's  sake,"  I  cried,  "do  nothing  of  the  kind,  or 
I  will  run  away  and  you  shall  never  see  me  again — never." 

She  stared  at  me,  and  laying  her  finger  on  my  forehead 
said: 

"There  must  be  something  wrong  here." 

"Think  what  you  please,  but  I  will  not  suffer  you  to 
speak  one  word  to  the  young  gentleman  about  me." 

"And  who's  thinking  of  the  young  jackanapes?  The 
model  of  a  young  man  that  was  playing  with  hoops,  I  sup- 
pose? Very  likely,  indeed !" 

I  felt  my  face  burning — indignation,  pain,  and  shame 
struggled  together  for  the  mastery.  Use  was  really  too 
remorselessly  hard  and  rude  sometimes. 

"I  mean  the  gentleman  that  called  after  us  in  the  yard 
yesterday,"  she  proceeded,  quite  unmoved. 

"Ah,  him,"  I  exclaimed.  "Speak  to  him  as  much  as 
you  please.  He  is  old — dead  old." 

"So,  then,  those  are  really  the  people  that  were  at  the 
haide  four  weeks  ago?" 

I  nodded  my  head. 


86  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"And  the  old  gentleman  gave  you  those  unfortunate 
thalers?" 

"Yes,  Use." 

I  went  to  the  window.  I  was  on  the  point  of  making 
myself  ridiculous;  the  tears  stood  in  my  eyes.  Use  knew, 
indeed,  that  I  always  cried  when  she  was  too  hard  on 
Heinz,  but  then  that  was  quite  another  thing.  I  had 
loved  him  from  my  childhood,  but  what  was  this  utter 
stranger  to  me?  What  on  earth  did  it  matter  to  me  if 
Use  chose  to  call  him  a  jackanapes  and  a  model  of  a  young 
man?  It  was  perfectly  absurd,  and  yet  for  all  that  this 
detraction  annoyed  me  far  more  and  in  quite  a  different 
manner  from  what  it  did  when  Use  preached  too  roughly 
to  my  good  old  Heinz. 


XII. 

O^  wakening  next  morning  I  felt  very  strange.  The 
first  thing  that  met  my  eye  was  the  well-known  quilt 
which  always  covered  my  bed,  and  I  lay  buried  in  feathers 
as  deeply  as  at  the  Dierkhof.  The  crossing  of  the  gravel 
path,  my  father's  reception  of  us,  the  broken  statues,  and 
my  ramble  through  Frau  Holle's  apartments — all  this 
passed  dreamily  through  my  brain ;  on  the  other  hand,  I 
fancied  the  cocks  outside  must  begin  crowing  every 
moment;  I  thought  I  heard  the  coffee-mill  grinding  in 
the  fleet,  and  it  surprised  me  that  Spitz  did  not  come  and 
jump  up  on  my  bed  to  bid  me  ''Good-morning."  I  looked 
out  from  the  midst  of  the  feathers.  Oh,  no,  the  morning 
light  did  not  shine  so  richly  through  our  thick  shutters; 
on  our  planked  floors  lay  no  flowery  worked  carpet,  and 
from  the  white-painted  walls  no  flowers  or  gold  moldings 
were  to  be  seen.  Yonder  hung  nothing  save  the  time- 
worn,  grave  portrait  of  Charles  the  Great,  the  dear  old 
picture!  And  it  was  quiet,  so  quiet  around!  I  had  not 
been  stuck  in  a  dismal  back  room;  on  the  contrary, 
wherever  I  looked  beauty  and  brilliancy  surrounded  me. 
So  much  the  worse! 

I  did  not  feel  in  harmony  with  all  these  rare  and  beauti- 
ful things!  But  yesterday  in  the  chamber  of  mirrors  how 
I  had  laughed  at  my  own  appearance,  and  how  must  I 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR,  g? 

appear  in  the  eyes  of  complete  strangers?  It  would  be 
far  more  suitable  if  I  were  stuck  in  a  back  room  and  taught 
fresh  Scripture  sentences  and  worked  at  knitting  stock- 
ings till  the  inevitable  two  years  of  misery  were  past.  I 
shook  myself  and  buried  my  head  deep  in  the  pillows — 
that  was  a  Dierkhof  bed;  there  I  was  still  at  home.  It 
looked  just  as  strange  in  the  midst  of  the  silk  curtains  and 
painted  walls  as  the  sunburnt  child  of  the  haide. 

Yesterday  I  had  been  overcome  with  the  surprise  occa- 
sioned by  the  various  new  impressions;  I  had  fallen  asleep 
in  a  species  of  intoxication ;  but  the  bright  morning  light 
had  sobered  my  mind,  and  I  felt  once  more  like  the  wild 
mountain  ash  seeking  to  hide  itself  from  the  world's  gaze 
in  some  sequestered  corner. 

All  at  once  a  little  bird  began  twittering  and  singing  an 
accompaniment  to  my  dejected  reflections.  He  was 
perched  on  the  window-sill  outside,  and  I  pictured  to  my- 
self with  a  kind  of  melancholy  pleasure  that  he  had  come 
direct  from  my  home  in  the  haide;  but  the  early  calm 
was  to  my  great  surprise  disturbed  by  another  sound  also. 
Behind  the  wall,  where  the  press  stood,  a  deep  ringing 
voice  began  to  chant  a  psalm  tune. 

At  that  moment  the  door  of  my  sitting-room  opened  and 
Use  appeared,  pausing  in  a  listening  attitude  on  the 
threshold.  She  nodded  "good-morning"  to  me  and  re- 
mained standing  with  folded  hands. 

"A  pious  man,"  she  remarked  as  the  verse  came  to  an 
end  and  she  came  over  to  my  bed.  "So,  then,  more 
people  than  your  father  live  in  this  house;  and  such 
people  too!  Yesterday  I  thought  the  house  heathenish 
and  bewitched." 

She  stopped,  for  the  voice  began  another  verse.  The 
little  songster  on  the  window-sill  had  long  been  silenced ; 
it  had  been  outdone  by  tho  strong  man's  voice. 

"Now  get  up,  child,"  said  Use  after  she  had  listened 
devoutly  to  the  second  verse.  "That  proximity  is  more 
to  me  than  if  I  had  found  a  treasure.  That  was  a  nice 
act  of  morning  devotion.  Now  for  our  day's  work." 

With  that  she  drew  up  the  blinds  and  went  away.  I 
sprang  out  of  bed.  The  water  was  sparkling  and  glitter- 
ing in  the  sunshine;  the  trees  and  bushes  were  laden  with 
dew,  and  over  the  grass  plot  strutted  peacocks  and  golden 
pheasants.  While  I  was  dressing  my  neighbor  continued 
singing  without  intermission. 


gg  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

"Oh,"  said  Use,  with  a  touch  of  ill-humor  mixed  with 
surprise  as  a  seventh  verse  succeeded  to  the  sixth,  "he 
will  weary  the  Almighty  with  his  singing.  He  never  made 
the  precious  morning  hours  for  that  purpose.'* 

She  had  herself  been  pretty  active  already.  She  had 
had  a  kitchen  opened  for  her  and  insisted,  despite  all  pro- 
testations on  the  housemaid's  part,  on  making  the  coffee 
herself.  She  said  she  absolutely  could  not  drink  it  made 
by  strange  hands.  The  room  was  already  cleaned,  and 
the  bed  which  she  had  made  up  for  herself  upon  the  sofa 
was  cleared  away.  On  the  table  stood  a  breakfast  service 
sent  by  Franlein  Fliedner. 

I  knocked  at  my  father's  door  timidly. 

"Come  in,  my  little  Lorchen,"  he  called  from  within. 

I  thanked  God  he  still  remembered  my  arrival  and  that 
I  was  not  obliged  to  introduce  myself  anew.  He  drew  me 
into  the  room  and  began  to  excuse  himself  for  having  left 
us  so  long  alone  yesterday,  but  he  had  been  obliged  to  stay 
at  the  duke's  till  eleven  o'clock.  Use  then  told  him  that 
"afterward"  she  intended  consulting  Fraulein  Fliedner 
as  to  what  had  best  be  done  with  me,  to  which  he  per- 
fectly agreed.  He  considered  Fraulein  Fliedner  an  excel- 
lent and  estimable  woman,  and  would  feel  much  gratified 
if  she  would  receive  his  little  daughter;  he  said  he  intended 
paying  her  a  visit  himself  by  and  by  and  asking  if  she 
would  do  so.  To-day,  however,  that  was  utterly  impos- 
sible, as  he  was  overwhelmed  with  business  and  must 
make  use  of  every  moment. 

He  was  not  half  so  absent  as  he  was  up  in  his  library  at 
his  writing-table,  and  though  he  sometimes  addressed  me 
by  my  dead  mother's  name  and  occasionally  inquired  my 
age,  still,  with  all  that,  I  felt  that  he  had  become  familiar 
with  the  thought  of  having  his  child  with  him,  and  that 
gave  me  fresh  courage. 

He  kept  my  hand  in  his  and  I  accompanied  him  to  the 
foot  of  the  stairs,  for  he  was  accustomed  to  take  his  coffee 
in  the  library. 

A  tine-looking  old  man  passed  us  in  the  hall.  His  hair 
was  white  as  snow  and  so  was  his  cravat;  his  black  suit 
shone  like  satin  in  the  bright  morning  light.  He  bowed 
low,  but  with  an  air  of  stiffness  and  reserve,  and  his  eyes 
shone  with  an  expression  of  enmity  and  arrogance  as  they 
measured  my  father's  appearance. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  89 

"Who  is  that?"  I  inquired  as  he  rapidly  but  with  great 
dignity  strode  round  the  pond.  His  unexpected  appear- 
ance somehow  produced  an  unpleasant  impression  on  me. 

"The  old  bookkeeper  of  the  Firma  Claudius,"  replied 
my  father.  "He  is  your  near  neighbor.  "Haven't  you 
heard  him  singing?"* 

A  sarcastic  smile  played  over  my  father's  lips  as  he  thus 
referred  to  the  singer,  who  was  just  disappearing  in  the 
copse  beyond. 

Two  hours  later  I  was  treading  that  same  path  by  Use's 
side— the  way  to  the  front  house.  Use  carried  the  box 
containing  my  grandmother's  valuable  papers  under  her 
great  black  shawl.  She  had  added  a  pair  of  woolen  gloves 
to  her  traveling  costume  and  now  looked  quite  festive! 

The  gravel  walk  was  empty  to-day,  but  an  equal  amount 
of  life  reigned  in  the  garden.  Wheelbarrows  were  creak- 
ing through  the  sand,  between  the  beds  people  in  work- 
ing-blouses were  busily  occupied  in  making  up  bouquets 
from  the  flowers,  and  human  heads  kept  popping  up  from 
behind  rose-bushes  and  standards  which  looked  after  us  iu 
unfeigned  astonishment. 

As  we  approached  the  large  hot-house  the  old  book- 
keeper made  his  appearance  at  the  door.  His  hat  was  off 
and  his  white  head  literally  shone.  He  was  talking  to  the 
young  man,  who  walked  beside  him,  prepared  apparently 
for  going  out.  They  did  not  notice  us,  though  we  turned 
almost  immediately  afterward  into  the  same  path,  which 
led  to  the  yard. 

"They  are  light  heads,  she  and  her  sister,"  said  the  old 
bookkeeper;  "they  fly  high." 

"Do  you  blame  us  for  that?" 

"And  the  nest  they  flew  to  is  grown  too  small;  I  have 
long  known  that,"  continued  the  old  bookkeeper,  without 
remarking  the  objection.  His  voice  was  deep  and  agree- 
able, only  his  manner  of  speaking  was  so  peculiarly  broad 
awl  pompous,  as  if  he  himself  considered  every  word  of 
his  gold. 

"I  will  not  just  say  that,"  replied  the  other,  shrugging 
his  shoulders,  "but  there  is  a  great  deal  that  annoys 
Charlotte  and  me  which  might  be  dispensed  with,  which 
hangs  round  our  necks  like  a  leaden  weight  in  society,  and 
principally  keeps  me  back  in  my  career.  If  my  uncle 
could  but  resolve  to  give  up  this  business." 


90  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

He  swung  his  elegant  walking-stick  round  him  and  took 
the  head  off  a  splendid  red  carnation  which  was  near  with 
such  a  cut  that  the  blossom  flew  far  off  on  the  gravel 
walk.  I  gave  a  little  scream  and  put  my  hands  up  to  iny 
throat  involuntarily,  as  if  the  cruel  cut  had  gone  through 
it. 

The  speakers  turned  round.  My  terrified  face,  but  still 
more  my  gesture,  awoke  a  sarcastic  smile  on  the  young 
man's  face. 

"So  the  haide  princess  can  be  sentimental  too?"  he 
exclaimed,  baring  his  chestnut  locks  politely.  "No  doubt 
you  regard  me  as  a  Vandal,  a  Goth,  and  what-not  besides, 
and  have  passed  sentence  on  me  forever,"  he  continued, 
with  his  smiling  glance  directed  aside  toward  me.  "There 
is  nothing  else  for  me  but  to  raise  the  flower  to  honor  once 
more,"  and  picking  up  the  carnation  he  stuck  it  in  his 
button-hole. 

"That  won't  make  the  poor  thing  whole  again,  though," 
said  Use  dryly  as  we  passed  by. 

He  laughed. 

"Are  you  not  called  Use?"  he  asked  roguishly. 

"Yes,  at  your  service,"  she  replied,  turning  toward 
him.  "Use  Wichel,  with  your  leave."  Her  tone  was 
sharp  and  sounded  as  if  she  had  pepper  and  salt  on  her 
tongue.  What  would  her  reply  have  been  like  had  she 
known  that  he  had  associated  her  name  in  the  haide  with 
that  of  a  dragon ! 

Where  she  found  the  courage,  though,  to  look  so  self- 
possessed  and  indifferent  into  those  brown  eyes,  just  as  if 
they  had  belonged  to  any  young  broom  maker  whom  she 
would  have  dismissed  from  the  Dierkhof  with  a  piece  of 
bread  and  an  admonition — that  I  could  not  comprehend. 
Yes,  Use  was  brave  as  a  soldier;  none  could  cope  with  her, 
least  of  all  I,  whose  coward  heart  was  even  then  beating 
with  terror  because  I  thought  the  bookkeeper  was  looking 
at  me  and  measuring  me  from  head  to  foot. 

I  think  the  young  man  was  just  about  to  tell  his  com- 
panion who  I  was,  but  Ils«  did  not  stay,  and  nodding  her 
head  turned  away,  I  following.  The  gentlemen  followed 
slowly. 

"There's  a  carriage  coming  round  the  corner,"  said  the 
young  man,  suddenly  standing  still.  "Yes,  yes,  it  is  the 
black  horses.  Uncle  Eric  is  returning  from  Dorotheen- 
thal." 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  91 

They  hastened  their  steps  and  reached  the  yard  before 
ns  just  as  the  pretty  light  carriage  drove  in.  The  old 
gentleman  in  the  brown  hat  and  blue  spectacles  was/sitting 
in  it.  His  appearance  was  just  the  same  as  in  the  haide., 
but  he  sprang  up  the  steps  with  an  agility  one  could  not 
have  expected  from  a  man  of  his  age. 

"Good-morning,  uncle,"  called  out  the  young  man. 
"Is  that  you,  Uncle  Eric?"  exclaimed  Charlotte,  looking 
out  of  a  window. 

The  old  gentleman  nodded  at  the  window  and  gave  his 
hand  to  his  nephew  and  the  bookkeeper.  We  passed  by 
just  then,  but  unobserved,  for  at  the  same  moment  the 
carriage  drove  in  a  strong,  powerful-looking  man,  with  a 
wallet  on  his  shoulder,  had  also  come  into  the  yard  and 
was  just  then  holding  his  hat  out  in  a  begging  attitude. 

I  saw  the  young  man  draw  out  his  purse  at  once  and 
prepare  to  throw  him  a  large  piece  of  silver,  but  his  uncle 
pushed  back  the  liberal  hand. 

"What  is  your  trade?"  he  inquired. 

"I  am  a  joiner." 

"Have  you  looked  for  work  in  the  town  here?" 

"Yes,  sir,  and  how?  But  I  could  find  none  anywhere; 
and  anything  would  be  welcome,  God  knows.  I  am  tired 
of  wandering  about." 

"Well,  then,  meantime  come  to  me.  I  have  work  for 
you,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  boxes  lying  around,  "and  I 
give  good  wagess." 

The  man  scratched  his  head,  somewhat  embarrassed. 

"Well,  sir,  that  is  very  good,  but  I  must  first  go  to  the 
Herberge  again,"  he  stammered. 

"Then  go,"  replied  the  old  gentleman,  turning  short 
round. 

"He  has  cut  his  wise  teeth,"  said  Use  admiringly  while 
we  ascended  the  steps  leading  to  the  house;  but  I  was 
disgusted.  The  beggar  looked  so  miserably  tattered  and 
torn — and  how  roughly  he  had  been  turned  away!  Was 
it  not  enough  that  he  had  to  beg  at  all !  My  heart  had 
been  grieved  for  him  as  I  watched  the  powerful  form  so 
humbly  bent  before  the  rich  man.  Yes,  the  young  gentle- 
man had  shown  much  more  mercy  and  nobleness;  without 
a  question  he  had  offered  him  alms.  And  if  the  joiner 
never  came  again  who  could  suspect  him  on  that  account? 
Who  would  like  to  be  thus  inspected  by  those  ugly  blue 
spectacles? 


92         THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Charlotte  had  no  douht  seen  us  passing  through  the 
yard,  for  she  came  to  meet  us  in  the  hall.  A  little  lace 
cap,  light  and  transparent  as  a  cobweb,  was  carelessly 
thrown  on  the  shining  hair,  and  set  off  the  oval  form  of  a 
face  which  was  young  and  beautiful,  if  perhaps  a  shade 
too  full  in  its  outline.  A  light  morning  dress  fell  in  ample 
folds  round  her  tall  form ;  a  small  girdle  confined  it  at  the 
waist,  which  in  no  wise  tightened  or  inconvenienced  her 
well-developed  figure. 

"Is  the  haide  princess  coming  to  me?"  said  she  kindly 
and  taking  me  by  the  hand. 

"To  you  afterward,  fraulein,"  said  Use,  "but  we  must 
first  see  Fraulein  Fliedner."  And  her  eyes  scanned  the 
beautiful  creature  with  much  satisfaction.  Use  had  a 
profound  respect  for  size  and  strength,  no  doubt  investing 
the  heads  wnich  stood  on  such  shoulders  with  her  own 
determination  of  character.  As  for  me,  I  seemed  so  small 
standing  between  these  two  giantesses  as  utterly  insig- 
nificant, as  perhaps  a  bit  of  thistle-down  floating  between 
two  oak  trees. 

Charlotte  laughed  at  Use's  abrupt  answer  and  opened  a 
door.  Thank  goodness,  the  lady  who  came  forward  on 
our  entrance  from  one  of  the  deep  window  recesses  was 
not  so  tall  as  my  two  leaders.  Fraulein  Fliedner  looked 
just  as  nice  as  yesterday,  in  her  silk  dress  and  pretty  cap 
and  her  elegant  gold  watch-chain  fastened  in  her  belt, 
and  she  advanced  very  kindly  to  meet  us. 

I  sat  down  beside  Use  on  a  sofa  covered  in  calico,  while 
Charlotte  threw  herself  into  an  arm-chair,  taking  the 
growling  little  Pinscher  (who  had  just  been  trying  to  tear 
a  piece  out  of  my  precious  dress)  on  her  knee  and  without 
ceremony  administering  a  corrective. 

"Without  further  preliminary  Use  set  about  giving  a 
sketch  of  my  past  life  in  its  fullest  details.  My  nonsensical 
head,  my,  brown  hands  that  were  incapable  of  knitting,  my 
unseemly  inclination  for  running  barefooted — these  were 
the  principal  matters  which  two  years'  cultivation  were  to 
change.  I  sat  like  a  lamb  the  whole  time,  gazing  at  the 
glass  case  opposite  and  the  large  ugly  china  figures  in  it, 
which  seemed  to  nod  an  incessant  affirmative  of  "Yes, 
yes,  that  must  be  altered"  to  Use's  pithy  discourse.  Then 
I  took  to  counting  the  innumerable  keys  on  the  walL 
Goodness!  was  it  possible  that  Fraulein  Fliedner's  elegauV 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  93 

looking  head  knew  to  what  each  of  that  fearful  assemblage 
of  keys,  large  and  small,  belonged?  I  grew  quite  afraid 
of  a  house  which  contained  such  a  number  of  rooms  locked 
and  sealed.  0  for  my  beloved  Dierkhof,  with  its  one  key 
for  the  hall  door,  which  was  often  left  open  even  at  night. 

"Willingly,  most  -willingly  will  I  take  little  Fraulein 
von  Sassen  under  my  care,"  said  the  old  lady  as  Use 
stopped  and  laid  the  box  of  papers  on  the  table;  "but  I 
think  some  things,  especially  the  money  matters,  require 
grave  consideration.  I  am  of  opinion  you  ought  to  ask 
Herr  Claudius'  advice " 

"Oh,  for  pity's  sake  not  to-day,  dear  Fliedner,"  broke 
in  Charlotte.  "Uncle  Eric  has  his  working  mania  on  him 
stronger  than  ever  to-day,  and  is  just  in  the  humor  to  put 
the  poor  little  thing  into  the  back  room  and  set  her  to 
weaving  wreaths  and  dried  flowers  her  whole  life  long." 

I  looked  at  her  in  terror. 

"Yes,  look  at  me,  little  one,"  she  went  on,  holding  up 
her  large,  white,  carefully  tended  fingers.  "I  live  in  con- 
stant terror  that  these  ten  unfortunate  creatures  may  some 
day  be  kidnaped  for  the  service  of  that  back  room." 

Ilse  looked  grave.  With  all  the  remorseless  severity  she 
showed  she  was  really  too  fond  of  me  to  bear  the  thought 
of  leaving  me  unhappy  in  a  strange  town.  Yes,  she  had 
painted  my  ignorance  in  the  darkest  colors,  but  she  must 
admit  that  she  was  herself  to  blame,  for  she  had  never 
had  the  courage  to  insist  on  my  working  or  to  put  an  end 
to  my  taste  for  running  about. 

"Don't  be  at  all  anxious,"  said  Fraulein  Fliedner, 
smiling.  "Fraulein  Claudius  sometimes  likes  to  exag- 
gerate. The  gentleman  is  strict,  but  not  wanting  in  tact. 
You  can  speak  to  him  with  perfect  confidence." 

"Well,  if  you  think  so,"  said  Use,  evidently  relieved. 
"I  don't  know  why,  but  I  feel  a  reliance  in  the  gentle- 
man, though  I  have  never  even  seen  his  face;  but  the 
little  one  says  she  saw  him  in  the  haide  four  weeks  ago, 
and  that  he  is  old,  very  old,  so  that  he  must  have  ex- 
perience and  knowledge  of  the  world." 

Charlotte  threw  up  her  arms  and  burst  out  laughing. 

"TJnclo  Eric  will  be  much  obliged,  your  royal  highness," 
said  she;  and  Fraulein  Fliedner  regarded  me  also  play- 
fully. 

"Take  up  your  box  and  come  with  me,"  she  said  to  Use. 


94  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

So  saying,  she  threw  a  mantilla  over  her  shoulders, 
shook  the  white  cuffs  at  her  wrists,  and  smoothed  the 
parting  of  her  hair. 

"I  must  be  present  too,"  said  Charlotte,  starting  up  and 
throwing  Pinscher  into  his  cushioned  basket. 

"In  your  morning  dress?"  said  Friiulein  Fliedner,  with 
surprise. 

Oh,  is  it  not  fresh  and  pretty?"    replied  Charlotte 
giddily,  drawing  the  lace  cap  a  little  more  on  her  forehead. 

The  old  lady  shook  her  head  and  led  us  again  into  the 
dusky  hall.  She  opened  a  door  at  the  opposite  end  noise- 
lessly. 


XIII. 

I  SHOULD  have  liked  above  all  things  to  turn  short 
round  on  the  very  threshold,  to  convince  myself  that  the 
July  sun  was  indeed  blazing  in  its  meridian  splendor. 
Oh,  how  cold  and  dismal  it  was  behind  those  barred  win- 
dows! Plenty  of  light,  indeed,  was  reflected  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street,  but  it  only  made  the  shadows 
which  the  stone-work  and  heavy  carpets  caused  all  the 
deeper.  With  every  breath  one  inhaled  a  thick  heavy  air, 
in  which  every  flower  of  life  seemed  withered. 

At  a  long  table  stood  the  old  bookkeeper.  He  had 
drawn  gray  linen  saving  covers  over  his  sleeves  and  was 
sorting  out  a  heap  of  paper  packets ;  several  people  were 
busy  around  him. 

"Good-morning,  Herr  Eckhof,"  said  Charlotte,  offering 
him  her  hand  in  a  familiar  manner,  like  one  student  to 
another.  He  returned  her  salutatio7i  kindly,  but  to  Frau- 
lein  Flieduer,  on  the  contrary,  he  showed  the  same  stiff 
demeanor  as  to  my  father. 

We  crossed  the  great  saloon-like  room  and  entered  the 
adjoining  apartment.  Only  one  gentleman  was  present, 
although  a  number  of  desks  were  ranged  against  the  wall. 

The  gentleman  was  sitting  in  a  position  so  as  to  com- 
mand the  whole  room  and  the  door  by  which  we  entered. 
At  our  appearing  he  raised  his  head ;  then  he  rose,  appar- 
ently a  little  surprised,  and  left  the  window  where  his 
writing-table  stood.  He  had  a  thin,  noble,  somewhat 
pale  faoe. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  &5 

Charlotte  hurried  toward  him  in  advance  of  us. 

"In  your  morning  cap,  Charlotte?"  he  asked,  fixing  a 
pair  of  large  blue,  eagle  eyes  on  the  young  lady's  face. 
The  bright  color  in  her  cheek  deepened  and  spread  over 
her  brow. 

"Oh,  uncle,  you  are  alone,"  she  urged,  letting  her 
glance  wander  lightly  through  the  room.  "Don't  be  so 
particular  this  once.  I  must  be  present  while  you  make 
an  interesting  acquaintance." 

I  had  sheltered  myself  behind  Use  long  since. 

"That  is  not  the  gentleman  who  gave  me  the  thalers," 
I  whispered  uneasily. 

Charlotte's  quick  ear  had  caught  the  words. 

"Uncle,"  said  she,  laughing  like  a  sprite  to  herself, 
"four  weeks  ago  a  young  lady  saw  you  in  the  Liineburger 
Haide  and  wishes  now  to  be  presented  to  the  old,  very 
old  Herr  Claudius " 

"Oh,  that  is  of  no  manner  of  consequence,"  interrupted 
Use,  "whether  it  is  or  is  not  the  gentleman  the  little  one 
saw.  I  want  to  speak  to  Herr  Claudius,  and  you  are  he, 
are  you  not?" 

He  bowed  his  head,  while  the  ghost  of  a  smile  crossed 
his  lips. 

And  now  Use  once  more  began  her  account.  She  must 
have  got  it  off  as  a  preacher  does  his  sermon,  for  it  went 
on  and  on  without  a  break,  exactly  in  the  same  succession 
as  to  Fraulein  Fliedner. 

During  this  time  I  concealed  myself  behind  the  ladies 
and  examined  the  gentleman  more  particularly.  He  had 
the  same  thin,  delicately  formed  face  as  the  old  gentle- 
man in  the  brown  hat,  and  had  the  same  voice;  but  that 
head  could  not  possibly  be  his.  Over  the  smooth  youthful 
forehead  grew  a  mass  of  fair  curly  hair  which  in  the  slant- 
ing light  that  entered  shone  like  moonshine.  Beneath 
this  dead  golden  hair,  in  striking  contrast,  were  his  eye- 
brows, quite  dark.  Bold  and  marked,  overshadowing  the 
blue  eyes,  they  gave  the  pale  and  distinguished,  if  not 
exactly  handsome,  face  a  look  of  power.  I  marked  a  slight 
frown  gradually  knitting  them.  Use's  discourse  mani- 
festly displeased  him;  he  had  not  the  smallest  wish  to 
meddle  in  the  matter.  Occasionally  he  cast  a  sidelong 
glance  at  the  folios  lying  open  near  him.  It  was  evidently 
annoying  to  him  to  be  disturbed,  though  he  endeavored 
for  civility's  sake  to  show  close  attention. 


96  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"I  can  only  advise  you,"  said  he  coolly,  taking  advan- 
tage of  a  pause  on  Use's  part,  "to  send  the  young  lady  to 
school  as  soon  as  possible '" 

"No,  uncle,"  interrupted  Charlotte,  "that  would  he 
cruel  to  send  this  shy  young  creature,  who  up  to  this  has 
enjoyed  unlimited  freedom,  among  those  machines.  Life 
at  school  is  dreadful!" 

"Life  at  school  is  dreadful,  Charlotte?"  he  repeated  in 
a  tone  of  surprise.  "And  you  have  spent  most  of  your 
life  there  hitherto.  Why  did  you  never  mention  this 
before?" 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"What  use  would  it  have  been  complaining?"  came 
somewhat  bitterly  from  her  lips. 

He  looked  severely  and  piercingly  at  her,  but  never 
uttered  a  word.  At  this  moment  the  door  opened,  and 
the  old  bookkeeper,  accompanied  by  a  tall  and  very 
handsome  young  man,  entered.  The  latter  shrank  from 
the  presence  of  ladies  and  would  have  retreated. 

"Come  in,"  called  out  Herr  Claudius,  knitting  his 
brows  slightly.  He  took  out  his  watch  and  showed  it  to 
the  new-comer. 

"It  is  very  late,  Herr  Helldorf,"  said  he  coldly. 

Charlotte  had  returned  the  young  man's  salute  with  a 
careless  nod,  but  she  colored  violently  at  her  uncle's  words 
and  her  face  showed  deep  annoyance. 

"Excuse  me,  Herr  Claudius,  but  one  of  my  brother's 
children  has  been  some  hours  seriously  ill,"  apologized 
the  young  man  in  a  trembling  voice  as  he  took  his  place 
at  his  desk. 

"I  am  sorry  for  that.     Is  danger  apprehended?" 

"It  is  past,  thank  God." 

Herr  Claudius  turned  to  Use  once  more. 

"I  do  not  see,"  he  began,  "of  what  use  I  can  be  in  this 
matter.  One  cannot  possibly  expect  that  a  man  of  Dr. 
von  Sassen's  vocation  could  undertake  the  education  of — 
what  you  yourself  admit  to  be — a  rather  wild  girl." 

"I  would  willingly  undertake  that  myself,"  added  Friiu- 
lein  Fliedner. 

"And  I  too,"  said  Charlotte  quickly. 

"The  chief  difficulty  is  about  the  care  of  the  little  for- 
tune left  by  her  grandmother  to  Fraulein  von  Sassen," 
continued  the  old  lady. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  97 

"Well,  that,  at  all  events,  I  should  think  her  father 
could  undertake." 

"He  absolutely  refuses  to  do  so,"  replied  Use,  "and  I  am 
glad  of  it,  because" — she  paused  a  moment  in  search  of 
the  right  word— "well,  because  of  all  those  broken  casts 
and  statues  he  is  forever  buying." 

She  placed  the  box  on  a  table  and  unlocked  it.  Herr 
Claudius  took  some  of  the  papers  out  and  ran  his  eye  over 
them. 

"Many  of  those  bills  have  fallen  in,  but  the  papers  are 
good,"  said  he,  replacing  them  in  the  box.  "So  I  am  to 
take  charge  of  the  money.  Do  you  wish  the  interest 
added  to  the  principal?" 

"Ah,  yes,  save  as  much  as  possible,"  replied  Use.  "But 
the  doctor  is  very  absent,  no  doubt,  and  it  would  be  as 
well  if  you  would  occasionally  let  the  little  one  have  a  few 
groschens  for  her  own  use." 

"Where  is  the  young  lady?" 

"Show  yourself  for  once,"  said  Charlotte  to  me,  and 
before  I  wac  aware  of  it  she  had  taken  off  my  hat,  smoothed 
my  hair,  and  pushed  me  forward,  much  like  a  child  who 
has  to  recite  her  birthday  poem.  This  time  I  stepped  for- 
ward quite  unconcerned.  I  felt  no  shyness  of  this  man 
with  the  quiet  business  air.  I  looked  at  him  as  unsus- 
piciously as  at  the  old  gentleman  in  the  haide,  and  I 
really  believe  I  should  have  plucked  up  courage  to  oppose 
him  if  he  had  said  anything  about  his  wreaths  of  dried 
flowers. 

At  that  moment  when  our  eyes  met  I  saw  recognition  in 
his — he  was  the  gentleman  with  the  blue  spectacles. 

"Ah,"  said  he  in  great  surprise,  "it  is  the  singular  little 
girl  that  never  saw  money." 

"Yes,  uncle,"  exclaimed  Charlotte.  "The  haide  prin- 
cess Dagobert  told  us  about;  the  wild  little  haide  lark  who 
threw  your  money  at  your  feet  and  who  won't  be  caged 
now  without  an  effort.  Now,  little  one,  make  your 
courtesy  to  the  old  gentleman." 

Herr  Claudius  grew  red. 

"No  nonsense,  Charlotte,"  he  said,  as  gravely  and 
severely  as  to  Dagobert  in  the  unfortunate  shoe  affair. 

"Are  you  satisfied  that  the  money  be  intrusted  to  my 
care?"  he  asked  me  kindly. 

It  seemed  to  me  so  strange  to  be  consulted  thus  gravely 
on  a  matter  of  property  that  I  could  not  help  laughing. 


98  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Does  it  really  belong  to  me,  then?"  I  inquired. 

"Of  course,"  said  Use  irritably.     "To  whom  else?" 

"It  belongs  to  me,  then,  like  my  hand,  or  my  eyes,  to 
do  with  exactly  as  I  wish?"  I  inquired  perseveringly, 
but  almost  breathless  with  the  anxiety. 

"No,  not  exactly.  Your  disposal  of  it  cannot  be  as  yet 
quite  so  absolute,"  replied  Herr  Claudius,  resuming  the 
mild  and  gentle  tone  in  which  he  had  spoken  in  the  haide. 
"You  are  still  far  too  young.  If  I  undertake  the  charge 
of  these  papers  you  must  also  give  me  an  exact  account  of 
every  sum  you  ask  me  for." 

"Oh,  then  it's  of  no  use,"  replied  I,  sadly  and  dejected. 

"Have  you  any  special  wish?"  he  inquired,  bending 
down  and  looking  at  me  in  a  questioning  manner. 

"Yes,  Herr  Claudius,  but  I  would  rather  not  tell  it — 
you  wouldn't  fulfill  it." 

"So?  What  brings  you  to  that  conclusion?"  he  asked 
quietly. 

"Because  I  saw  you  turn  away  that  poor  tradesman 
without  giving  him  anything,"  I  answered  boldly. 

"Ah,  indeed!  You  wish  to  assist  some  one?"  he  said 
quite  unmoved.  My  indirect  reproof  had  evidently  failed 
to  make  the  faintest  impression. 

"But  what  is  the  little  one  thinking  of?"  said  Use  in 
amazement.  "Whom  do  you  want  to  assist,  child?  You 
don't  know  a  creature  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

"Use,  you  know  very  well,"  I  replied  imploringly. 
"You  know  who  is  in  great  want  just  now  and  is  very 
probably  counting  the  hours  till  money  comes  from  Han- 
over." 

"Listen,  Lenore:  if  you  speak  to  me  of  that  again 
everything  between  us  is  at  an  end."  I  had  never  seen 
her  so  angry  as  she  was  then.  "Once  for  all,  not  a  penny 
shall  be  given  there." 

"Then  keep  your  money,"  I  exclaimed  passionately  as 
the  streaming  tears  blinded  my  eyes.  "But  I'll  never 
take  a  penny  either,  never — that  you  may  rely  upon,  Use. 
I'd  rather  go  into  the  back  room  and  make  wreaths  and 
bouquets  for  Herr  Claudius  all  my  days." 

He  stared  at  me. 

"Who  has  told  you  of  that  room  already?"  he  inquired. 

My  eyes  involuntarily  turned  toward  Charlotte,  who 
colored  slightly. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  99 

"Charlotte  was  jesting,  Herr  Claudius/'  said  Fraulein 
Fliedner  apologetically. 

At  sight  of  my  tears  the  old  lady  had  put  her  arm 
round  me  and  drawn  me  kindly  toward  her.  Use,  on  the 
contrary,  exasperated  my  "childish  folly"  more  and  more. 
She  laid  her  great  hard-worked  hand  heavily  on  the  lid 
of  the  iron  box,  as  if  to  defend  it  from  every  such  illegal 
assault,  and  said: 

"Herr  Claudius,  never  allow  Lenore  to  send  money  to 
any  one.  I  tell  you,  if  she  does  it  but  once  her  whole 
fortune  is  as  good  as  lost!  I  can't  explain  this  to  you, 
because  it  is  an  unfortunate  family  history  which  must  be 
buried.  Oh  that  such  young  lips  should  be  the  means  of 
forcing  one  to  speak  of  aught  like  it  to  strangers !  To 
make  a  short  story,  it  is  about  a  relation  who  has  brought 
disgrace  upon  disgrace  upon  her  family,  who  has  been  cast 
off." 

"Do  you  know  this  relation?"  said  Herr  Claudius, 
turning  toward  me. 

"No,  I  have  never  seen  her  and  only  heard  of  her  ex- 
istence in  the  last  four  weeks." 

"She  asks  for  assistance?" 

"Yes,  in  a  letter  to  my  dead  grandmother.  But  no- 
body will  give  her  any.  She  joined  play  actors,  Use  says, 
and  is  a  singer." 

Herr  Claudius  grew  suddenly  red  as  fire  and  closed  the 
books  beside  him. 

"But  she  has  lost  her  voice,  her  beautiful  voice,"  I  con- 
tinued, anxiously  seeking  his  eyes,  which  he  turned  away. 
"How  dreadful  it  must  be  when  one  wants  to  sing  and 
the  tones  refuse  to  come!  Use,  you  who  are  so  kind,  how 
can  you  find  it  in  your  heart  to  refuse  any  one  in  such 
distress?" 

"How  much  do  you  require?"  said  Herr  Claudius,  cut- 
ting short  my  passionate  appeal  with  his  calm  cold  voice. 

"Several  hundred  thalers,"  I  replied  boldly. 

Use  threw  up  her  hands  in  dismay. 

"Evidently  you  have  no  idea  how  large  a  sum  that  is!" 
said  he. 

I  shook  my  head  and  answered: 

"Let  it  be  what  it  may,  I  give  it  willingly — if  she  only 
recovers  her  beautiful  voice." 

"I  believe  you,"  said  Use  grimly.  "Such  a  child  does 
what  she  fancies  and  never  thinks  of  the  result.'* 


100  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"I  will  give  you  the  money,"  said  Herr  Claudius  to  me. 

Use  absolutely  screamed. 

"Be  quite  at  ease.  I  will  take  care  that  Fraulein  von 
Sassen  is  at  no  loss— I  answer  for  it." 

He  turned  to  a  safe  standing  near  the  writing-table  and 
took  out  four  bank-notes,  which  he  laid  before  me.     He 
then  wrote  a  few  hasty  lines  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  offer- 
ing me  a  pen  said : 
i     "Have  the  kindness  to  sign  this  receipt." 

"Use  must  do  that,"  I  replied.     "I  write  too  badly." 

A  smile  passed  over  his  face  and  he  said : 

"That  would  not  be  business-like.  If  I  give  you  the 
money  Frau  Use's  signature  would  be  of  no  use.  You 
can  surely  write  your  name?" 

"Yes,  but  you  will  see  what  fearful  crows'  feet  it  will 
be." 

I  mounted  the  platform,  seated  myself  on  the  chair  he 
offered  me,  and  looked  over  at  Charlotte  and  Fraulein 
Fliedner  quite  pleased.  They  were  both  laughing.  Aiid 
how  preposterous  must  my  insignificant  little  form  have 
appeared,  stuck  up  in  the  important,  honorable  counting- 
house  seat,  before  those  huge  folios  above  which  my  nose 
was  scarcely  visible.  I  joined  in  the  laugh,  and  with  such 
a  light  heart!  I  was  so  glad  that  I  had  succeeded  in  my 
endeavor  to  get  the  money  for  my  aunt. 

Herr  Claudius  leaned  on  the  writing-table,  so  as  to  hide 
me  effectually  from  the  sight  of  the  others.  I  seized  the 
pen  and  began  making  an  L. 

"That  won't  do,"  I  said,  stopping  as  I  saw  he  was 
watching  me.  "You  mustn't  look  at  my  hands." 

"So,  is  that  forbidden?     May  one  ask  why?" 

"Don't  you  see  why  yourself?  Because  they  are  so 
brown  and  abominable,"  I  replied,  without  turning  round 
and  a  little  annoyed  that  he  had  compelled  me  to  explain. 

He  turned  away  laughing  and  I  began  afresh — but  what 
a  number  of  letters  there  were  in  my  name! 

Suddenly  the  door  opened  and  the  young  gentleman 
came  in.  The  crimson  carnation  glowed  on  me  like  a 
ball  of  fire  and  I  let  the  pen  drop,  covered  my  eyes,  and 
felt  as  if  the  whole  world  encircled  me. 

"Uncle,"  he  called  out  hurriedly,  "Graf*  Zell  and    I 

•Count. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  101 

have  agreed  about  the  price — only  10  louis-d'or  more 
than  you  offered.  Are  you  satisfied?  And  won't  you 
just  give  one  look  at  Darling?  I  have  had  him  brought 
into  the  yard." 

"Herr  Helldorf  bowed  to  you,  Dagobert,"  said  Herr 
Claudius,  pointing  to  the  young  clerk  and  making  no 
other  answer. 

Dagobert  nodded  his  head  hastily  and  in  undisguised 
amazement  stepped  over  to  the  table  where  I  was  sitting. 

"My  goodness!  A  sentimental  pink  in  your  button- 
hole, Dagobert,"  exclaimed  Charlotte,  "what  in  the 
world  procured  it  that  honor?" 

Dagobert  laughed  and  looked  over  significantly  at  me. 
Use  caught  the  look,  which  all  must  have  observed,  and 
said  dryly: 

"Oh,  don't  pretend  that  the  little  one  over  there  has 
given  you  the  flower.  He  cut  the  head  off  the  poor  thing 
before  our  very  eyes  with  his  stick,  and  he  is  now  letting 
it  die  miserably  in  his  button-hole,"  she  explained,  to  the 
amusement  of  the  bystanders. 

The  young  man  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  joined  in 
the  laugh. 

"But,  Uncle  Eric,  what  is  to  be  done,  may  I  ask?"  he 
inquired.  "Will  you  come  with  me?" 

"Patience.  We  must  first  brine;  a  matter  of  business  to 
a  conclusion,"  said  Claudius,  again  taking  up  his  fermer 
position  beside  me. 

The  pen  lay  on  the  receipt.  I  had  hid  my  face  now 
entirely,  for  I  felt  it  was  fiery  red. 

"I  cannot,"  I  whispered. 

"Go  out  and  see  that  no  accident  happens  in  the  yard," 
said  he  to  Dagobert.  "I  will  follow  you  in  a  few  minutes." 

The  young  man  left  the  room. 

"Now  write  on,"  said  Herr  Claudius,  looking  at  my 
hot  cheeks  with  a  penetrating  but  kindly  glance. 

I  put  the  last  stroke  to  it  and  pushed  it  toward  him. 
At  the  same  time  I  seized  his  hand — the  first  time  I  had 
ever  been  guilty  of  such  an  act  toward  a  stranger. 

"I  thank  you,"  I  said,  with  a  full  heart. 

"What  for?"  he  replied  in  a  kind  tone,  rejecting  both 
my  thanks  and  hand.  "We  have  only  entered  into  a 
business  engagement,  and  no  thanks  are  due  for  that." 

I  jumped  down  from  the  desk  and  put  my  arms  round 


102  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Use's  neck.  Her  face  looked  black  as  midnight  and  ver- 
itably frightened  me. 

"Use,"  I  entreated,  "don't  be  angry.  That  just  had 
to  be,  and  now  I  can  sleep  peacefully  once  more." 

"Oh,  yes,  Use  is  set  aside  now  and  has  nothing  more  to 
say,"  she  replied,  not  pushing  me  away,  however.  "So, 
that  had  to  be.  Well,  I  wash  my  hands  of  it  as  far  as  I 
am  concerned.  In  the  haide  you  couldn't  count  three  in 
the  face  of  a  stranger;  but  now,  when  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  your  own  way  and  find  that  others  are  on 
your  side,  you  are  able  to  chatter  like  a  magpie  and  have 
cheeks  like  a  roasted  apple.  If  the  story  ends  badly  for 
you  think  of  me,  but  don't  come  to  me  for  pity!" 

She  undid  my  arms  from  her  neck,  took  my  right  hand 
in  hers,  and  was  about  to  leave  the  room,  when  Herr 
Claudius,  who  had  meantime  reseated  himself  at  his 
writing-table  and  was  scratching  away  rapidly,  called  out: 

"Stop!  Are  you  going  to  give  over  Fraulein  von  Sas- 
sen's  fortune  absolutely  to  my  care  without  receiving  any 
acknowledgment?" 

Now  it  was  Use's  turn  to  grow  red  as  a  roasted  apple. 
She  was  ashamed  of  having  been  so  negligent — she  who 
prided  herself  on  always  keeping  her  head. 

"Your  good  countenance  is  to  blame  for  it,  sir,"  she 
apologized.  "With  any  one  else  I  should  never  have 
forgotten  to  demand  a  receipt." 

So  saying,  she  pocketed  the  certificate,  while  I  seized 
the  bank-notes  lying  on  the  table.  The  strict  business 
man  must  have  formed  a  nice  opinion  of  the  party 'from 
the  haide! 

"What  intolerable  pedantry!"  exclaimed  Charlotte  in 
the  hall.  "As  if  all  the  world  didn't  know  that  the  Firma 
Claudius  would  never  condescend  to  dirty  its  fingers  with 
a  few  thousand  thalers  like  that!  Everything  must  be 
signed  and  sealed  to  the  last  farthing!" 

"There  must  be  regularity,"  replied  Friiulein  Fliedner, 
"and  perhaps  you  will  one  day  make  that  discovery  for 
yourself."  And  she  wiped  off  a  few  specks  of  dust  which 
had  fallen  on  her  silk  mantilla  in  the  wareroom. 

The  young  lady  tossed  her  head,  and  instead  of  replying 
darted  down  the  steps  leading  to  the  yard,  saying: 

"Now  we  shall  see  Darling." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  103 


XIV. 

THE  yard  was  empty,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  both  sides 
of  the  garden  door  stood  wide  open  and  a  terrific  noise 
proceeded  from  the  garden,  as  if  men  and  animals  were 
running  wild  through  it. 

Herr  Claudius,  who  had  followed  us,  paused  a  moment 
in  surprise,  then  hastened  toward  the  garden. 

My  heart  beat  with  anxiety  and  pity  at  the  scene  I  wit- 
nessed through  the  open  door.  A  skittish  horse  was  tear- 
ing about  the  flower-garden.  The  slight  fawn-like  animal 
flew  like  a  flash  of  light  across  the  large  variegated  plot, 
and  shaking  its  mane  and  neighing  loudly,  scornfully  de- 
fied all  the  hands  and  feet  that  were  pursuing  it. 

With  positive  delight  he  seemed  to  trample  down  a  bed 
of  stock  gilliflower,  then  broke  into  the  greenhouse,  smash- 
ing all  before  it.  For  one  moment  the  chestnut  stood 
upright,  dismayed  by  the  clatter  he  himself  had  made, 
but  for  one  moment  only,  then  turning  round  he  darted 
like  an  arrow  into  the  midst  of  a  standard  which  was 
literally  one  mass  of  purple-red  roses  and  broke  it  down. 

All  the  gardeners,  the  people  busy  in  the  house,  even 
the  two  gentlemen  in  the  office,  who  had  doubtless  heard 
the  noise  within,  all  rushed  up  and  down  in  company  with 
Dagobert  and  a  bedizened  jockey,  and  Charlotte  now 
added  to  the  number  of  pursuers,  having  remained  hitherto 
standing  near  me. 

Her  tall,  powerful  form  suddenly  confronted  the  wild 
animal  as  though  it  had  sprung  out  of  the  grouud,  and  it 
started  back  snorting  before  the  unexpected  obstacle;  but 
the  two  slight  yet  powerful  hands  had  already  seized  it  by 
the  bridle  and  held  it  in  an  iron  grasp  until  assistance 
came  from  all  sides  and  seized  the  ill-conditioned  beast. 

"Charlotte,  you  are  a  brick,"  cried  Dagobert,  breathless, 
but  proud  and  triumphant,  as  he  kissed  his  sister  on  the 
forehead  without  more  ado.  The  young  man  from  the 
office  was  standing  near  her  pale  as  a  ghost,  with  downcast 
eyes.  He  was  the  first  that  had  come  to  Charlotte's  assist- 
ance. I  saw  her  glance  at  his  face,  which  became  fiery 
red,  and  then  turn  from  him  with  a  gesture  of  indifference, 
her  lips  half-forming  the  words  "Ah,  bah!" 

Every  one  waa  admiring  her  strength  and  temerity.     As 


104  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOS. 

for  me,  I  longed  to  kiss  those  powerful  hands.  Herr 
Claudius  alone  never  uttered  a  word. 

"Who  left  the  door  open?"  he  inquired  sternly  as  he 
strode  into  the  midst  of  the  group,  who  immediately  dis- 
persed respectfully. 

"I  was  going  to  renew  the  flowers  on  Banker  Tressel's 
tables  and  had  two  people  with  the  large  hand-barrow 
with  me  for  that  purpose,"  said  the  gardener  with  the  soft 
'voice  who  had  spoken  to  us  the  previous  day.  "Both 
sides  of  the  door  have  to  be  opened  to  admit  the  large 
hand-barrow,  and  it  was  probably  the  oleander  on  it  which 
caused  the  animal  to  take  fright." 

Herr  Claudius  was  silent.  He  never  uttered  a  word  of 
blame  either  to  Dagobert,  who  had  brought  the  horse  into 
the  yard,  nor  yet  to  the  jockey  for  not  taking  better  care 
of  it.  Nor  did  he  say  one  syllable  about  the  injury  to  the 
garden.  He  examined  the  foaming  animal  attentively. 
He  was  a  beautiful  creature,  but  there  was  something 
tricky  in  the  way  in  which  he  let  his  head  down  and  threw 
it  back  again  suddenly. 

Meantime  Dagobert  had  thrown  himself  on  the  horse 
and  steed  and  rider  were  suddenly  flying  about  the  yard 
again.  It  was  a  splendid  sight.  After  a  short  and  pas- 
sionate struggle  the  animal  yielded  to  its  lord  and  master 
and  became  obedient  to  his  slightest  motion. 

How  small  all  the  people  round  seemed,  even  the  strik- 
ingly handsome  young  Helldorf  himself,  in  comparison 
with  that  Tancred  yonder — he  of  the  chestnut  locks. 
Nothing  but  a  deeper  glow  upon  the  rider's  cheek  gave 
token  of  the  hidden  contest  with  the  horse;  the  elastic 
form  betrayed  no  unusual  exertion  of  strength. 

"Uncle,"  he  called  out  suddenly,  "forgive  Darling  his 
naughtiness  in  consideration  of  his  fine  qualities.  Isn't 
he  splendid  ?  Just  look  at  him !  His  elegant  elastic  build, 
his  small  head  set  on  the  delicate  neck,  graceful  as  a  lady, 
yet  with  the  strength  and  courage  of  a  hero!  Uncle,  it 
would  make  me  so  happy  to  have  him." 

"I  am  sorry  for  that,  Dagobert,  for  I  do  not  intend  to 
buy  him.  The  count  must  ride  him  himself,"  said  Herr 
Claudius  regretfully  but  decidedly  as  he  walked  off  to  see 
after  repairing  the  damage  done. 

Dagobert  sprang  oil  the  horse  with  a  bound  and  threw 
the  reins  to  the  jockey,  who  smiled  maliciously. 


TEE  PRINCESS  OP  THK  MOOR.  105 

"Give  my  compliments  to  the  count,"  he  said.  "I  will 
see  him  again." 

The  man  rode  off  and  the  bystanders  dispersed  to  their 
several  occupations. 

Charlotte  took  her  brother's  arm  and  looked  tenderly 
into  his  heated  face.  She  drew  him  into  the  garden, 
where  Fraulein  Fliedner  and  Use  had  already  preceded 
them,  going  direct  toward  the  ruined  greenhouse.  Every 
one  had  forgotten  me.  I  followed  the  brother  and  sister, 
who  took  the  road  to  the  bridge. 

"Now,  was  I  not  again  in  the  position  of  a  school-boy 
there?"  broke  out  Dagobert,  wkh  his  teeth  shut — his 
voice  sounded  as  if  he  was  half-choked  with  rage  and  vex- 
ation. "Nothing  disgusts  me  so  much  as  this  assumption 
of  calmness.  He  won't  buy  the  animal  for  two  reasons: 
first,  because  by  its  bad  behavior  he  has  lost  a  few  pence 
worth  of  bouquets,  and,  secondly,  because  in  his  cit  arro- 
gance he  doesn't  wish  to  have  any  dealings  with  the  aristo- 
cratic seller.  He  would  rather  let  some  old  Jew  deceive 
him.  But  not  a  word  of  that,  of  course.  He  is  totally 
silent,  pretends  not  to  observe  the  destruction,  and 
revenges  himself  simply  by  drawing  back  without  any 
ostensible  reason — and  then  this  sudden  assumption  of 
equestrian  knowledge  and  management!  He  who  has 
never  been  on  the  back  of  anything  better  than  his  one- 
legged  office  stool  suddenly  pretends  to  be  a  judge  of  the 
matter,  measures  the  horse  with  the  eye  of  a  connoisseur, 
and " 

"Not  so  fast  there,  Dagobert,"  interrupted  Charlotte. 
"I  am  by  no  means  sure  but  that  uncle  led  a  wild  enough 
life  once,  especially  in  Paris.  Not  from  any  youthful 
passions — he  has  none,  work  al ways  excepted — but  perhaps 
for  fashion's  sake.  What  do  I  know?" 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  glanced  back  at  the 
standard  rose-tree  which  was  just  being  set  up  again  under 
Herr  Claudius'  direction. 

"It  is  impossible  for  us  to  do  anything  in  the  face  of 
that  iron  mask  of  coldness  and  calculation,"  she  continued, 
pointing  in  that  direction.  "There  is  nothing  for  it  but 
to  hold  one's  tongue,  keep  one's  hand  pressed  to  the  rest- 
less beating  heart,  and  wait  till  some  lucky  star  causes  our 
rescue." 

In  turning  round  she  had  observed  me  and  held  out  her 


106  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

hand  for  me  to  walk  beside  her.  Dagobert,  on  the  con- 
trary, drew  back  at  my  appearance.  It  was  evidently  un- 
fortunate in  his  opinion  to  have  had  a  spectator  behind 
him.  Had  he  but  known  what  was  going  on  within  me 
just  then!  My  fingers  were  clutching  at  the  bank-notes, 
and  I  would  have  given  anything  to  have  flung  them  in 
the  face  of  that  man  at  the  rose-bush  as  I  had  done  his 
thalers  in  the  haide — the  icicle  who,  with  an  appearance 
of  kindness  and  an  assumption  of  goodness,  tyrannized 
over  those  two  fine  young  creatures  and  made  them  sen- 
sible of  his  power.  Had  they,  then,  no  other  relative  in 
the  world  but  this  hard-hearted  old  uncle?  I  felt  enthu- 
siastically interested  in  them  without  their  knowledge. 

Dagobert  took  his  leave  of  us  at  the  bridge;  he  was 
going  to  town.  How  good  and  noble  he  must  be.  Not- 
withstanding all  that  inward  vexation  and  annoyance,  he 
went  and  took  leave  of  his  uncle  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. 

Charlotte  walked  slowly  by  me,  saying  she  wanted  to 
fetch  a  book  from  the  library. 

"Come  here,  little  one,"  she  said,  laying  her  arm  round 
my  shoulders  and  drawing  me  so  close  to  her  that  I  could 
feel  the  violent  beating  of  her  heart.  "I  like  yon.  You 
have  character  and  a  courageous  heart  in  your  Lilliputian 
form.  It  requires  courage  indeed  to  be  able  to  look  into 
Uncle  Eric's  eyes  and  ask  him  for  anything." 

"And  have  you  no  father?"  I  inquired;  "not  even  a 
grandmother?"  I  said,  pressing  close  to  her  and  looking 
into  her  handsome  eyes,  which  were  still  lighted  up  with 
the  recent  excitement.  It  occurred  to  me  at  that  moment 
that  even  with  my  mentally  diseased  grandmother  I  ought 
to  have  been  a  happy  child. 

She  looked  down  smiling  at  me. 

"No,  princess,  no  grandmother,  either,  to  leave  me 
9,000  thalers.  Oh,  how  I  would  shake  the  dust  off  my 
feet!  No,  we  were  early  left  orphans.  My  father  fell  at 
Isly,  in  Morocco,  in  the  year  '44.  He  was  a  French  officer. 
When  he  left  France  I  was  still  in  long  clothes.  I  don't 
even  know  what  he  was  like." 

"Perhaps  like  Herr  Claudius.  Of  course  he  was  his 
brother?" 

She  stopped  suddenly,  drew  away  her  arm,  and  clapped 
her  hands  together,  laughing. 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  107 

"Oh,  child,  you  are  too  strange!  A  Claudius  in  the 
French  service!  A  son  of  the  respectable  old  thoroughly 
German  seed  warehouse !  No,  that  would  have  disturbed 
their  old  and  honorable  succession.  No,  no,  there's  not 
one  drop  of  this  worthy  German  trading  element  in  our 
composition.  Dagobert  and  I  are  thoroughly  French — 
French  body  and  soul ;  and  thank  God  we  have  not  a  drop 
of  that  cold  blood  in  oiir  veins,  either.  We  are  adopted 
children.  Uncle  Eric  took  us,  for  what  reason  no  one 
knows — not  from  a  tender,  pitying  heart,  at  all  events.  I 
dare  say  that  sounds  badly  from  my  lips,  but  I  can't  believe 
it  was  from  that  motive." 

She  put  her  arm  again  round  me  and  we  proceeded 
further. 

"This  reception  of  us  into  his  house  would  be  noble  and 
praiseworthy  on  his  part,  and  I  should  certainly  not  be 
the  last  to  thank  him  for  it,"  she  continued,  "if  he  did 
not  exhibit  such  intolerable  despotism.  He  has  given  us 
his  name,  and  whereas  our  real  name  is  Mericourt,  we  are 
obliged  to  call  ourselves  Claudius — to  sign  ourselves 
Claudius.  And  what  a  horribly  stiff  burgher  name  it  is! 
If  he  want  in  some  degree  to  make  up  in  the  German  ear 
for  the  name  of  Mericourt,  there  ought  at  least  to  be  a 
'von'  before  it.  We  certainly  have  no  cause  to  be  grateful 
for  this  unwilling  change  of  name.  He  hangs  the  name 
of  the  shop  round  our  necks,  and  it  is  a  great  impediment 
to  Dagobert  in  his  profession  as  a  soldier." 

"He  is  a  soldier!"  I  exclaimed  in  astonishment.  Frau- 
lein  Streit  had  often  enough  given  us  descriptions  of  the 
gay  uniforms  which  had  formerly  frequented  my  father's 
house. 

"Well,  does  that  astonish  you  so  much?  Oh,  so,  you 
have  not  seen  him  in  his  regimentals,  but  I  should  have 
thought  the  officer  was  visible  in  him  even  in  civilian 
costume.  His  regiment  is  stationed  at  K.  and  he  is  on 
leave  here  for  several  months.  I  am  proud  of  Dagobert. 
We  suit  each  other  admirably  and  make  up  each  other's 
deficiencies  as  brother  and  sister  rarely  do.  We  love  each 
other  perhaps  all  the  more  because  we  were  so  long  sep- 
arated. From  the  time  I  was  three  years  old  I  lived  at 
school  until  about  two  years  ago,  and  Dagobert  was  first 
in  a  professor's  family  and  afterward  at  the  military  col- 


108  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TIJE  MOOR. 

By  this  time  we  had  reached  the  parterre  in  front  of  the 
Carolinenlust. 

"Come,  Hans,  come  here,"  cried  Charlotte. 

The  crane,  which  had  taken  up  its  position  near  the 
pond  once  more,  flew  toward  her  like  an  ardent  adorer. 
From  every  side  flocked  pea-fowl  and  guinea-hens,  and 
now  and  then  I  caught  sight  of  a  pheasant's  plumage,  but 
it  always  drew  back  into  the  copse.  My  presence  intimi- 
dated the  shy  birds. 

"Just  look  at  all  this  undeserved  affection!"  laughed 
Charlotte.  "It  is  really  quite  disinterested,  for  I  never 
feed  or  pet  them,  and  yet  they  follow  me  everywhere  the 
moment  they  hear  the  sound  of  my  voice.  Is  it  not  singu- 
lar?" 

I  did  not  think  it  at  all  singular.  I  was  running  already 
by  her  side,  like  a  faithful  if  somewhat  spoiled  little  dog. 
I  was  far  too  inexperienced  to  be  able  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  power  of  her  character  and  its  individual  quali- 
ties. At  all  events,  it  was  the  inconceivable  decision  and 
strength  of  her  whole  bearing  and  the  sound  of  her  firm, 
ringing  voice  which  had  such  an  effect  upon  me  and  so 
impressed  me  that  I  already  received  all  she  said  or  did  as 
gospel.  That  there  could  be  error  or  untruth  mingled 
with  it  never  once  occurred  to  me. 

"Where  are  the  people  that  live  in  there  traveling?"  I 
inquired,  pointing  to  the  sealed  doors  as  we  passed  through 
the  bel-etage  of  the  Carolinenlust. 

Charlotte  stared  at  me  and  looked  as  if  she  doubted  I 
was  in  my  right  mind.  Then  laughing  aloud  she  said: 

"Do  people  seal  their  doors  in  your  country  when  they 
leave  home?  Has  Frau  Use  sealed  up  the  Dierkhof  in 
that  fashion?  Where  are  the  people  gone  to?  Ha!  ha! 
ha!  To  heaven,  little  one." 

I  started  violently. 

"They  are  dead?" 

"Not  they,  but  he.  A  young  unmarried  man,  named 
Lothar,  inhabited  the  bel-etage.  He  was  "Uncle  Eric's 
eldest  and  only  brother — a  splendid  officer.  You  will 
become  acquainted  with  his  beautifully  painted  portrait, 
which  hangs  in  the  saloon  in  the  front  house." 

"And  he  is  dead." 

"Dead,  child;  actually,  irrevocably  dead.  He  died  of 
apoplexy  according  to  the  official  obituary,  but  in  reality 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  JQ9 

he  secretly  sent  a  bullet  through  his  own  head.  The 
world  connects  his  death  with  a  certain  princess  of  the 
ducal  house." 

"Is  her  name  Princess  Sidonie?"  involuntarily  escaped. 
me. 

"Oh,  so  the  little  savage  from  the  haide  possesses 
genealogical  information!  But  you  must  say  'was,'  for 
Princess  Sidonie  is  also  long  since  dead — a  few  days  before 
the  handsome  young  officer:  that  is  a  long  past  time,  of 
which  nobody  knows  much,  but  I  least  of  all.  All  I  can 
tell  you  is  that  the  seals  were  placed  there  by  the  last  order 
of  its  former  occupant  and  are  to  remain  there  till — till 
the  end  of  all  things.  I  should  like  to  peep  in — a  stolen 
glance,  just  for  once.  But  everything  is  too  well  guarded 
and  barricaded  for  that,  and  Uncle  Eric  keeps  an  Argus 
eye  upon  every  seal." 

Oh  goodness!  Suppose  that  that  inexorable  man  with 
the  piercing  glance  should  ever  discover  that  the  little 
stranger  had  already  been  skipping  about  behind  those 
seals !  A  shudder  ran  through  me  and  I  screwed  up  my 
lips.  Oh  that  the  unholy  secret  might  never  escape  them ! 
Scarcely  had  I  entered  the  world  before  I  found  something 
to  conceal;  I  whose  thoughts  and  words  had  hitherto  been 
as  free  and  frank  as  the  haide  wind  which  blew  my  wild 
locks  hither  and  thither. 

Meantime  Use  had  followed  us  up  the  stairs  and  kept 
scolding  me  because  I  had  escaped  from  her  while  she  was 
looking  at  the  disasters  in  the  greenhouse. 

"That  is  a  pretty  mess  that  abominable  animal  has 
made,"  she  said  quite  angrily.  "Two  of  the  large  ex- 
pensive panes  are  completely  smashed,  and  a  beautiful 
tree  covered  with  magnificent  red  blossoms  has  been 
utterly  ruined.  Its  leaves  lie  like  snow  upon  the  ground. 
And  there  stood  that  man,  quiet  as  a  mouse  the  whole 
time,  never  uttering  a  word!  I  wish  it  had  happened  to 
m«!" 

"Uncle  Eric  has  flowers  enough,"  said  Charlotte  giddily. 
"A  few  spoiled  blossoms  go  for  nothing.  Besides,  don't 
imagine  that  an  individual  one  will  be  lost.  They  will  be 
set  on  wire  and  put  in  the  bouquets  that  have  been 
ordered  by  hundreds  for  a  burgher  ball  to-night.  Noth- 
ing goes  to  waste  here;  you  may  rest  assured  of  that." 

She  opened  the  library  door,  but  I  kept  close  to  her  and 


HO  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

entered  at  the  same  time,  running  over  immediately  to  the 
window  where  my  father  sat.  I  did  not  mean  her  to  see 
how  ridiculous  and  helplessly  he  would  look  up  from  his 
writing.  She  must  not  laugh — I  would  not  suffer  it. 

"Father,  here  we  are  again,"  I  said,  laying  my  arm 
round  his  neck  so  that  he  could  not  raise  his  head.  He 
did  not  try,  but  only  looked  at  me  and  smiled.  I  was  too 
happy.  He  already  knew  my  voice  and  I  had  gained  some 
influence  over  him. 

"So,  little  one,  that  is  the  way  you  surprise  me,'*  he 
said,  jesting,  and  pinching  my  cheek.  "But  if  you  want; 
to  be  exactly  like  your  dear  mamma,  you  must  only  just 
lay  your  hand  very,  very  softly  on  my  forehead  or  drop  a 
flower  on  my  writing-paper  and  disappear  again  before  I 
have  even  time  to  think  who  it  could  have  been." 

It  always  gave  me  a  sharp  pain  when  he  mentioned  ray 
mother,  whom  he  must  have  loved  above  all  things.  Foi1 
him  she  had  had  a  thousand  endearments,  but  she  had 
hardly  recognized  the  existence  of  her  only  child. 

At  this  moment  my  father  espied  Charlotte.  He  sprang 
up  and  bowed. 

"I  have  brought  you  back  your  little  daughter,"  she 
said;  "but,  doctor,"  she  continued,  "you  really  must 
allow  us  ignoramuses  in  the  front  house  to  do  something 
toward  forming  and  cultivating  this  little  wild  sapling  from 
the  haide." 

He  thanked  her  cordially  for  the  offer  and  gave  her 
unlimited  power.  Just  then  an  idea  seemed  to  occur  to 
him  and  he  began  rubbing  his  forehead. 

"Yes.  By  the  bye — I  had  almost  forgotten — but  yester- 
day I  was  speaking  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  Princess 
Margarethe  and  I  happened  to  mention  your  arrival.  She 
immediately  expressed  a  wish  to  see  you  next  week.  She 
knew  your  mamma  while  she  was  maid  of  honor  at  L." 

"Oh,  you  happy  creature!"  exclaimed  Charlotte.  "An 
ancient  name,  a  celebrated  father,  and  a  mother  who  was 
a  maid  of  honor — truly,  the  gods  have  emptied  their  horn 
upon  your  head.  And  very  probably  you  don't  know  that 
you  are  to  be  envied." 

"No,  I  am  afraid  of  the  princess,"  I  answered  shyly, 
pressing  close  to  Use  nervously. 

"Don't  be  afraid,  Lorchen.  You  will  soon  love  her,'* 
said  my  father  soothingly;  but  Charlotte  knit  her  hand- 
some dark  browa, 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Don't  be  childish,  haide  flower,"  she  said  reprovingly. 
"The  princess  is  very  amiable.  She  is  sister  to  the  Prin- 
cess Sidonie,  of  whom  we  were  just  speaking,  and  the 
young  duke's  aunt.  She  does  the  honors  at  court  because 
he  is  not  married  yet,  and  is  remarkable  for  her  kindness 
toward  little  shy  and-— don't  take  it  ill — somewhat  awk- 
ward young  girls  on  their  first  presentation  at  court.  So 
be  quite  happy,  little  one." 

She  turned  me  round  and  round  by  the  shoulders. 

"Do  you  intend  your  daughter  to  be  presented  to  the 
princess  in  this  guise?"  she  asked  my  father,  showing  her 
pearly  teeth  with  a  bewitching  smile. 

He  looked  at  her  vacantly. 

"I  mean,"  she  added,  "in  this  antediluvian  costume." 

"See  here,  friiulein,"  interposed  Use  sharply.  "'My 
poor  lady  mourned  in  that  very  dress  for  my  master.  At 
that  time  she  was  still  a  person  of  distinction,  and  that 
dress  was  good  enough  for  her,  so  I  think  it  won't  harm 
the  princess  to  receive  the  little  one  in  it." 

Charlotte  laughed  in  her  face  and  inquired: 

"How  many  years  ago  is  that,  Frau  Use?" 

At  this  a  light  seemed  to  break  upon  my  father,  and 
passing  his  hand  over  his  forehead  he  said  : 

"Hem!  That  must  be  looked  to.  Yes,  yes,  yon  are 
right,  Fraulein  Claudius,  Lorchen  is  not  presentable  so. 
Now  I  think  of  it,  my  late  wife  had  exquisite  taste  and 
accompanied  me  to  court  frequently.  Good  Use,  down- 
stairs you  will  find  several  trunks  full  of  appropriate 
toilets  among 'my  effects.  The  housekeeper  in  those  days 
packed  everything  up  after  that  painful  event." 

"Mercy  on  me,  that  is  fourteen  years  ago!"  exclaimed 
Use.  "And  they  have  never  once  been  taken  out  and 
aired?'' 

He  shook  his  head. 

"Oh,  you  poor  unfortunate,"  said  Charlotte,  throwing 
her  arm  round  me.  "I  must  prevent  this,  or  the  residenz 
will  behold  such  a  guy  as  never  was  seen.  I  will  arrange 
it  all,  doctor." 

"go — and  who  is  to  pay  for  it,  pray?"  inquired  Use. 

My  father  looked  puzzled  and  discomposed  and  twisted 
his  fingers  in  and  out.  Charlotte  observed  that  at  once 
and  said : 

"I  will  speak  to  my  uncle  about  it." 


112  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"He  can  only  give  her  what  money  belongs  to  her," 
broke  in  Use,  "and  if  we  have  the  spending  of  that,  her 
bit  of  fortune  will  soon  be  given  to  the  four  winds  with 
buying  flounces  and  furbelows." 

"As  far  as  I  am  concerned  you  may  keep  your  money  in 
your  pocket,"  said  Charlotte  angrily.  "I  will  give  her  my 
own  newest  dress  which  the  dressmaker  only  brought 
home  yesterday — but  in  that  attire  she  doesn't  go  to  court. 
I  like  her  far  too  well  to  allow  that." 

I  turned  round  and  secretly  kissed  the  soft  white  hand 
that  lay  over  my  shoulder.  Use  saw  this  action.  She 
shook  her  head,  and  an  expression  of  pain  and  sorrow  such 
as  I  had  never  before  seen  stole  over  her  face.  I  think, 
for  the  second  time  that  day,  she  bitterly  repented  having 
introduced  me  into  "the  sensible  people's"  house. 

But  as  yet  she  had  no  real  cause  for  anxiety;  as  yet  no 
trace  of  vanity  mingled  with  the  feeling  of  gratitude  which 
prompted  me  to  kiss  Charlotte's  hand.  Not  the  most 
distant  idea  entered  my  head  of  how  much  prettier  I 
should  look  without  the  thick  muslin  tie,  from  which 
Charlotte  boldly  relieved  me.  My  brown  face,  indeed, 
would  no  look  one  whit  the  whiter  for  being  placed  in 
close  comparison  with  the  elegant  lace  collar  the  young 
lady  wore,  and  my  small  ears,  which  always  became  fiery 
red  at  the  least  excitement,  would  look  just  as  ridiculous 
as  they  did  showing  above  the  muslin  collar.  All  this 
never  occurred  to  me  at  that  moment.  I  was  grateful 
wholly  and  solely  for  the  love  shown  me, 

Charlotte  took  leave  of  my  father  without  finding  the 
book  she  wanted;  my  presentation  at  court  appeared  to 
have  raised  a  very  whirlpool  of  thoughts  in  the  white  fore- 
head. She  assured  me  once  again  down  in  the  hall  that 
she  would  be  responsible  for  everything,  and  admonished 
me  gravely  to  overcome  my  causeless  nervousness  and 
timidity.  She  then  hastened  back  to  the  front  house. 

"You  won't  wear  borrowed  things,  of  course,"  said  Use 
to  me  as  Charlotte  disappeared  in  the  bosquet  opposite. 
"Your  blessed  grandmother  would  turn  in  her  grave. 
And  now  I  must  actually  go  and  ask  Herr  Claudius  for 
the  money  for  this  finery  myself.  They  will  make  a  nice 
dressed  doll  of  yon  in  that  house  over  there." 

As  we  were  entering  the  sitting-room  the  kind  old 
gardener  came  toward  me  and  said  that  he  had  arranged 
a  flower-table  in  my  room  by  Herr  Claudius'  desire. 


THE  PRINCES  OJ"  THE  MOOR.  US 

With  great  difficulty  I  brought  myself  to  express  a  few 
stiff  words  of  thanks.  I  didn't  want  Herr  Claudius' 
flowers;  he  might  sell  them  instead,  the  narrow-hearted 
calculating  uncle!  I  wouldn't  even  go  in  to  see  them. 
But  in  the  afternoon,  in  one  of  the  hottest  and  most 
oppressive  hours  of  my  life,  I  sat  near  them,  for  they 
partially  overshadowed  my  writing-table.  My  writing- 
table!  What  irony  lay  in  the  idea  of  giving  me  a  table  to 
be  dedicated  expressly  to  the  use  of  the  pen.  And  now  I 
was  seated  at  it,  overcome  with  the  difficulties  and  anxiety 
— for  I  wanted  to  and  literally  had  to  write  a  letter — the 
first  in  my  life.  Use  had  been  inexorable.  "Just  see  how 
you  will  accomplish  the  business  you  have  made  for  your 
self.  Not  one  finger  will  I  move  in  the  matter,"  she  had 
said  in  a  tone  admitting  of  no  appeal;  and  thus  had  she 
left  me  to  perform  my  herculean  task  alone. 

"DEAR  AUNT:  I  have  read  your  letter.  It  pains  me 
to  the  heart  to  hear  that  you  have  lost  your  beautiful 
voice,  and  as  my  dear  grandmother  is  dead,  I  send  you 
the  money." 

Thus  ran  the  confused  black  characters  on  the  sheet  of 
white  paper  that  lay  before  me.  The  commencement  was 
easy,  and  I  shut  my  eyes  to  assist  me  in  further  composi- 
tion. A  delicious  perfume  stole  toward  me.  Yes,  there 
stood  the  flower-stand ;  pale  yellow  tea-roses  hung  droop- 
ing over,  and — oh,  joy  of  joys — beneath  this  wealth  of 
roses,  azalias,  and  camellia-trees  lay  a  wreath  of  blooming 
heather!  That  was  really  too  much  on  the  part  of  the  old 
gardener.  I  flung  away  the  pen  and  grasped  the  flower 
buds  with  both  hands.  Then  rose  in  memory  the  well- 
beloved  scene;  the  roof  surrounded  by  the  hum  of  bees, 
the  haide  verdure  peering  from  its  every  tile,  and  on  the 
tops  of  the  old  oaks  the  magpies  shrieking  in  the  quiet 
orchard!  The  burning  noonday  sun  was  once  more  bear- 
ing down  on  the  old  fir  tree,  and  the  blossoms  of  the 
yellow  broom  twinkled  through  the  red  and  violet  colored 
haide  just  like  golden  stars.  Once  more  I  was  chasing  the 
beauteous  blue  butterflies  up  to  the  very  birch  trees  and 
into  the  thickets  of  willow  and  alder,  and  I  actually  seemed 
to  feel  the  flow  of  the  delightful,  cool,  dark  haide  stream 
over  my  bare  feet!  Suddenly  it  all  vanished,  even  as  it 


THE  PRINCESS  Off  THE  MOOR. 

came;  and  I  grasped  the  odious  pen  once  more  and  dipped 
it  in  the  vile  black  stuff  which  had  been  discovered  to 
be  my  torment.  And  now  to  proceed : 

"I  live  with  my  father  at  Herr  Claudius*  in  K.,  and 
perhaps  you  will  write  me  a  few  lines  to  say  if  you  receive 
the  money  safely." 

So,  that  was  all  quite  right;  the  only  thing  was,  would 
she  be  able  to  read  it?  Use  always  said  nobody  could 
make  head  or  tail  of  my  writing,  "because  the  letters  were 
all  placed  wrong.'*  Just  at  that  moment  the  crane  began 
dancing,  a  flock  of  guinea-fowl  fled  timidly  behind  the 
masonry  round  the  pond,  and  Dagobert  stepped  forward 
from  the  wood.  He  was  walking  rapidly  toward  the 
Carolinenlust,  swinging  his  walking-stick  in  the  air.  I 
made  a  dive  downward,  for  he  gave  a  passing  glance  at 
the  window  where  I  was;  but  he  was  not  coming  in — no, 
that  would  have  been  too  foolish  if  my  first  hasty,  nervous 
anticipation  had  been  realized  and  the  door  really  opened. 
He  passed  on  upstairs  to  the  library,  and  I  listened  to  hia 
footsteps  till  the  last  echo  died  away.  Oh,  how  much 
there  was  in  the  world  to  be  seen  and  known,  and  yet  there 
were  people  like  Herr  Claudius  who  spent  their  days  in 
scribbling  and  poring  over  great  account-books  as  he  did 
over  his  folios  in  the  front  house. 

And  now  my  signature  was  yet  to  be  added : 

"Your  niece,  LEXORE  YON  SASSEN." 

And  finally  the  address,  which  I  copied  out  with  much 
^abor,  letter  for  letter,  from  the  torn  fragment  of  my 
aunt's  note.  Heaven  be  praised!  it  was  finished,  and  if  it 
was  the  first,  assuredly  it  should  also  be  the  last  letter  I 
would  ever  write.  There  lay  the  pen  once  more  on  the 
old  French  inkstand,  and  I  granted  it  eternal  rest  with  all 
my  heart. 

Use  was  compelled  to  put  the  five  seals  on  the  cover 
whether  she  would  or  not.  She  then  carried  it  angrily  to 
the  post,  scarcely  touching  it  with  the  tips  of  her  fingers, 
but  yet  determined  to  do  it  with  her  own  hands,  that  such 
a  packet  of  money  might  not  be  intrusted  to  strangers. 

This  poor  little  composition  of  mine  and  its  results  have 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOE.  115 

often  reminded  me  of  a  little  bird  that  sows,  all  uncon- 
sciously, the  seed  of  some  bad  noisome  weed  in  a  bed  of 
choice  and  lovely  flowers. 


XV. 

THE  Firma  Claudius  was  one  of  old  standing.  It  was 
in  existence  and  had  already  attained  high  repute  at  the 
time  the  tulip  mania  raged  throughout  the  world,  begin- 
ning with  Holland.  That  was  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  for  three  roots  of  the  "Semper 
Augustus"  the  nowadays  inconceivable  sum  of  30,000 
guldens  used  to  be  given.  The  immense  fortune  of 
the  Claudius'  dated  chiefly  from  that  time.  They 
had  selected  this  particular  branch  of  the  flower  trade  and 
given  their  whole  attention  to  these  precious  specimens 
of  tulips.  Many  stories  were  told  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  valuable  of  this  species  being  sent  out  of  the  famous 
German  house  of  Claudius;  of  their  having  been  pur- 
chased in  Holland  for  fabulous  prices;  and,  adopted  by 
the  Dutch,  they  were  sent  in  to  the  market  with  the 
Dutch  stamp  on  them.  But  the  wealthier  this  mercantile 
house  became  the  more  upright,  simple,  and  retired  did 
its  heads  become  also.  They  had  retained  the  severest 
burgher  simplicity  and  plainness,  and  a  warning  against 
all  luxury  and  an  exhortation  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
same  discipline  and  sobriety,  on  pain  of  disinheritance, 
ran  through  a  long  succession  of  last  wills  and  testaments 
for  the  benefit  of  every  succeeding  successor. 

That  was  the  origin  of  the  dark  house  of  hewn  stone  in 
a  retired  street  never  having  undergone  any  external 
beautifying.  They  were  all  obliged  to  live  in  it  according 
as  they  succeeded  one  another,  and  the  business  premises, 
the  vaulted  stone  chamber  with  the  brown  cloth  carpet, 
looked  to-day  precisely  as  it  had  done  when  those  costly 
roots  were  packed  up  in  it  which  were  to  burst  upon  the 
delighted  eyes  of  the  tulip-worshipers  as  the  despotic 
queen  of  flowers  appearing  in  a  new  brilliantly  hued 
attire ! 

The  old  gentlemen  who  cherished  delicate  flower-blos- 
with  one  hand  and  forged  iron  chains  for  their  sue- 


116  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

cessors  with  the  other  ought  to  have  known  best  that  the 
change  which  produces  variety  is  not  subject  to  the  lead- 
ing-strings of  law,  and  would  have  been  far  wiser  had  they 
allowed  their  exerience  with  flowers  to  be  expercised  also 
for  the  benefit  of  human  nature, 

Eberhard  Claudius,  an  intellectual  and  remarkable  man, 
had  suffered  severely  from  the  narrow  restrictions  and 
traditions  of  the  house,  but  he  knew  how  to  lighten  them. 
It  is  related  of  his  beautiful  and  passionately  loved  wife 
that  she  grew  quite  depressed  in  the  gloomy  apartments 
of  that  front  house,  and  all  at  once,  unknown  to  the 
outer  world,  a  French  architect  arrived  one  day  with 
foreign  artists  and  erected  a  lovely  little  castle  in  the  sur- 
rounding wood,  which  was  inclosed  by  a  wall  and  was  the 
property  of  the  Firma  Claudius.  An  immense  number  of 
very  old  and  beautiful  trees  were  cut  down  to  afford  space 
for  the  building,  which  was  a  model  of  beauty,  light,  and 
life,  filled  with  little  statuettes  and  mirrors  which  every- 
where reflected  the  beauty  of  the  idolized  wife.  And  on 
the  day  when  that  pale  flower  first  saw  the  little  pond 
arise,  almost  like  a  fairy-tale,  when,  meeting  that  tender, 
thoughtful  husband  in  her  sunny  bower,  she  threw  her 
arms  around  his  neck  speechless  with  joy,  he  christened 
it  "The  Carolinenlust"  in  her  honor. 

Eberhard  Claudius  was  also  the  founder  of  the  cabinet 
of  antiquities  and  the  valuable  library  with  the  collection 
of  manuscripts.  He  had  traveled  in  Italy  and  France,  and 
with  the  eye  of  a  rare  judge  selected  and  sent  home  treas- 
ures of  art  and  science,  which,  however,  remained  as 
closely  concealed  in  the  Carolinenlust  as  the  beautiful 
lady. 

His  son  and  successor,  Conrad,  returned  to  the  old 
track.  He  restored  the  old  puritanical  strictness  once 
again,  shut  up  the  Carolinenlust  as  a  breach  against  the 
spirit  of  their  forefathers'  directions,  collected  all  the  art 
treasures  and  put  them  under  lock  and  key;  and  not  until 
the  time  of  his  grandson,  Lothar  Claudius,  did  the 
"variety"  break  out  again. 

On  the  death  of  their  parents — his  younger  brother 
Eric  and  he  lost  them  early — he  positively  declined  to 
enter  the  firm.  His  fiery  temperament  selected  the  mili- 
tary profession,  in  which  he  rose  rapidly.  He  was  made 
noble  and  an  adjutant,  and  was  the  prime  favorite  of  thj 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  H7 

prince  of  that  country.  The  Carolinenlnst  was  opened 
once  more.  It  suited  admirably  as  a  residence  for  this 
ambitious  and  aspiring  branch  of  the  old  commercial 
house,  and  as  if  to  protest  against  the  most  distant  con- 
nection with  the  front  part,  a  door,  closely  sealed,  was 
suddenly  erected  on  that  side  of  the  bridge. 

This  handsome  young  officer  resided  there  in  a  veritable 
solitude,  while  the  bookkeeper,  Eckhof,  took  charge  of 
the  business  until  Eric  Claudius  had  finished  his  education 
and,  true  to  the  old  traditions  of  his  house,  entered  on  his 
inheritance  with  iron  energy  and  endurance. 

The  deceased  officer  had  just  as  little  knowledge  about 
the  cabinet  of  antiquities  as  his  predecessor,  and  the  chests 
and  boxes  in  the  cellars  had  never  been  touched  for  years, 
when  the  young  duke  suddenly  assumed  the  reins  and  dis- 
covered a  real  passion  for  archaeology.  My  father,  one  of 
the  first  authorities,  was  called  to  K.,  and  lovers  of  an- 
tiquities grew  up  like  mushrooms  all  around.  His  royal 
highness  might  have  plastered  the  walls  of  his  residence 
with  the  treasures.  Ball-rooms  echoed  with  the  conversa- 
tion about  Greek,  Koman,  and  Etruscan  antiquities;  jaw- 
breaking  words,  such  as  numismatic,  glyptic,  and  epi- 
graphic,  flowed  from  the  coral  lips  of  the  dancers. 

Dagobert  carried  the  news  of  this  fresh  fancy  at  court 
into  the  silent  walls  of  the  commercial  department. 
Fraulein  Fliedner,  who  had  lived  with  Lothar's  and  Eric's 
mother,  and  who,  in  accordance  with  directions  left  by 
her,  continued  to  hold  her  situation  as  confidential  house- 
keeper and  general  care-taker,  knew  of  much  that  had 
passed  away  in  the  family  and  mentioned  the  buried  an- 
tiquities. Dagobert  told  my  father  about  them  and 
described  afterward  the  manner  in  which  he  had  stood  a 
moment  hesitating  before  the  house  with  the  stern,  respect- 
able, and  business-like  aspect,  but  had  at  last  ventured  in 
to  request  permission  from  the  owner  to  make  a  search 
throughout  the  souterrain  for  these  hidden  treasures. 
Herr  Claudius  had  granted  it,  if  but  reluctantly. 

The  following  day  my  father  had  disappeared  downstairs 
and  failed  to  make  his  appearance  again  the  whole  day. 
He  neither  ate  nor  drank,  but  was  absolutely  crazy  with 
excitement — an  amazing  discovery  of  scientific  value  was 
suddenly  opened  to  him.  Herr  Claudius  gave  orders  for 
the  unpacking  and  arrangement  of  the  art  treasures  and 


118  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

had  rooms  on  the  ground-floor  prepared  for  my  father, 
giving  him  at  the  same  time  the  free  and  entire  use  of  the 
library. 

I  did  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  become  acquainted 
with  all  these  circumstances  during  the  first  days  of  my 
arrival  at  K.  Indeed,  I  was  but  little  inclined  to  become 
acclimatized  there,  for  after  the  first  rush  of  new  impres- 
sions had  somewhat  subsided  the  home-sickness  after  the 
haide  returned  with  tenfold  power.  Use  indeed  was  still 
there;  she  had  allowed  herself  a  few  days  longer  that  she 
might  ''set  my  father's  young  companion  housekeeper 
well  a-going"  and  see  her  a  little  better  rooted  in  the  new 
ground.  But  that  did  not  satisfy  my  troubled  heart.  I 
knew  she  must  go  away  and  leave  me  in  the  end,  and  the 
thought  of  it  brought  me  ever  new  and  indescribable  dis- 
tress. 

In  the  other  house  every  one  was  only  too  kind  to  me, 
but  I  hated  its  darkness  and  gloom  and  never  entered  it 
except  either  with  Charlotte  or  Friiulein  Fliedner.  Of 
my  own  inclination  I  could  never  bring  myself  to  a  visit. 
This  drew  me  more  and  more  to  my  father.  Following 
his  gentle  advice  I  no  longer  disturbed  him,  as  I  had  re- 
cently done,  when  I  startled  him  by  putting  my  arm  round 
his  neck,  and  I  still  never  ventured  to  lay  a  flower  on  his 
paper,  as  my  mother  had  done;  but  I  had  found  courage 
to  set  a  vase  of  wild-flowers  on  his  writing-table  every 
morning  and  to  pass  my  hand  gently  over  his  partially 
gray  hair  as  I  stole  past  noiselessly.  I  liked  being  in  the 
library,  but  still  better  in  the  saloon  with  "the  broken 
trash,"  as  Use  persisted  in  calling  it.  These  silent  faces 
gradually  obtained  more  and  more  power  over  me  and 
even  enabled  me  now  and  then  for  a  moment  to  forget  my 
distant  haide,  after  which  my  soul  yearned  with  feverish 
longing. 

But  I  was  often  frightened  away  from  that  too.  Dago- 
bert,  who  seemed  to  have  a  real  passion  for  antiquities  and 
who  proudly  styled  himself  my  father's  "familiar,"  spent 
whole  days  between  the  cabinet  and  the  library.  As  soon 
as  ever  I  heard  his  footstep  I  used  to  fly  by  the  opposite 
door,  run  head  over  heels  downstairs,  and  not  content  with 
putting  that  distance  between  us,  often  ran  and  ran  till  I 
found  myself  breathless  in  the  wood. 

This  bit  of  wood  was  delightful  in  its  wild  luxuriance. 


THE  PBINCE08  OF  THE  MOO  fa 

The  old  Herren  Claudius  had  bought  it  and  built  a  wall 
round  it,  not  as  being  of  any  use  in  the  business,  but  for 
the  single  and  only  purpose  of  having  a  spot  withdrawn 
from  public  view  where  they  could  refresh  themselves 
without  fear  of  intrusion  by  a  quiet  walk  on  Sundays. 
This  was  the  sole  luxury  they  allowed  themselves.  My 
ardent  longing  after  the  boundless  plains  of  the  haide  at 
first  prevented  my  appreciating  the  beauty  of  the  wood. 
I  never  even  glanced  upward.  A  green  sky — how  horrid ! 
But  my  eye  fell  with  double  tenderness  on  the  light  blos- 
soms which  peeped  out  shyly  here  and  there  from  mosses, 
leaves,  and  rockeries — they  seemed  to  me  as  timid  and 
as  much  retired  from  observation  as  myself. 

Fearlessly  as  I  had  always  ranged  the  haide,  I  had  not 
courage  to  penetrate  far  into  what  seemed  a  wilderness 
here.  I  limited  myself  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
the  house,  and  my  favorite  retreat  would  certainly  have 
become  the  bank  of  the  little  stream,  because  it  reminded 
me  of  home;  but  the  very  day  after  my  arrival  at  K.  I  was 
driven  from  it.  When  Ilse  took  the  letter  to  the  post  I 
accompanied  her  as  far  as  the  bridge.  The  clear,  colorless 
water  was  rippling  as  softly  tinder  the  elegant  little  metal 
arch  as  the  familiar  haide  stream  behind  the  Dierkhof.  I 
slipped  into  the  copse;  it  was  formed  of  willows  and  alders, 
with  birch  stems  peeping  out  betAveen.  Pearl-shells,  in- 
deed, there  were  none,  but  there  were  smooth  pebbles, 
and  the  banks  were  decked  with  water-lilies  and  ranun- 
culuses. A  blue  wavering  speck  flashed  on  the  crest  of 
the  purling  water.  It  was  the  reflection  of  the  summer 
sky — all,  everything  exactly  like  the  little  brook  at  home. 
I  took  off  my  shoes  and  stockings,  and  soon  the  blue  water 
was  dancing  over  my  feet,  which,  to  my  annoyance,  the 
few  days  of  strict  covering  had  considerably  whitened. 
The  chains  seemed  to  fall  from  me,  body  and  soul,  and 
flow  away  on  the  waves.  I  laughed  with  pure  delight  and 
happiness  and  stamped  and  splashed  about  till  the  blue 
drops  flew  about  like  rain.  There  was  a  slight  rustling  in 
the  bushes.  Spitz  had  often  come  after  me  from  the 
Dierkhof  just  that  way  and  joined  me  in  the  water.  He 
used  to  break  through  the  bushes  on  those  occasions,  and 
I  felt  so  completely  at  home  just  then  that  I  fully  expected 
to  see  my  dear  companion  jump  out.  I  called  out  his 
name  quite  loud.  Alas!  I  was  soon  desilhisionee:  no  Spitz 


120  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

appeared,  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  the  bushes  moved  at 
the  spot  where  I  had  heard  the  noise,  and  an  arm  in  a 
light  coat  sleeve  hastily  drew  back. 

I  reached  the  bank  with  a  bound.  I  could  have  cried 
with  vexation.  In  the  very  first  few  days  of  my  two 
years'  probation  I  had  gone  back  to  my  old  tricks.  Dago- 
bert  had  seen  the  wild  sapling  in  her  bare  feet  again,  and 
there  would  be  no  end  to  the  ridicule  and  mockery.  Sud- 
denly I  remembered  that  his  coat  had  been  a  dark  one  when 
I  met  him  scarcely  an  hour  before  going  to  see  my  father, 
and  then  had  I  not  noticed  something  glittering  in  the 
bushes,  something  I  had  already  observed  in  the  counting- 
house?  It  proceeded  from  a  ring  on  Herr  Claudius'  hand. 
I  breathed  freely  once  more — yes,  it  was  Herr  Claudius. 
He  had,  no  doubt,  heard  the  senseless  pattering  in  the 
water  and  had  come  down,  anxious  to  see  who  was  injur- 
ing a  twig  of  his  property  and  disturbing  a  stone  in  the 
river.  He  might  be  at  ease,  the  strict  master.  I  should 
never  trespass  again. 

We  had  now  been  five  days  at  K.,  and  it  was  Sunday. 
At  the  Dierkhof  we  could  only  discern  an  occasional  tinkle 
of  the  distant  church-bells.  How  amazed  I  felt  when 
suddenly  a  deep,  solemn  peal  chimed  on  my  ear! 

Use  prepared  herself  for  church,  and  while  she  proceeded 
past  the  pond,  looking  very  solemn,  and  accompanied  by 
the  ringing  of  the  bells,  I  stood  in  the  hall  and  watched 
her  retreating  figure.  Just  then  the  old  bookkeeper  came 
out  of  his  room.  He  had  his  prayer-book  under  his  arm 
and  was  drawing  on  a  pair  of  pale  lavender  gloves — the 
old  gentleman  literally  shone  with  cleanliness  and  neatness. 

He  stopped  when  he  came  near  me.  He  did  not  bow, 
and  his  shining  hat  looked  as  if  glued  to  his  head;  but  for 
all  that  he  measured  me  with  a  severe  reproving  glance. 
I  trembled  and  felt  dreadfully  frightened,  and  as  he  opened 
his  lips  to  speak  I  fairly  turned  and  fled  into  the  wood. 

The  dreadful  creature!  Suppose  he  were  to  follow  me? 
I  paused  breathless  and  looked  round  timidly.  The  road 
I  had  taken  led  into  the  thicket.  I  had  unconsciously 
run  a  good  distance  up  hill.  Below  it  was  deadly  still. 
No  doubt  the  good  man  had  taken  the  road  to  church. 
Before  me  lay  a  narrow  path  leading  into  a  meadow. 
The  dew  still  hung  upon  the  feathery  grass,  and  border- 
ing the  forest  whole  beds  of  bright  red  strawberries  strewed 


THE  PR1NCE88  OF  THE  MOOR.  m 

the  ground.  No  one,  probably,  came  to  seek  them  there. 
They  perfumed  the  air  and  the  blossoms  shimmered — I 
fancied  I  heard  the  music  of  the  bells  proceeding  from 
them.  Aged  pine  trees  stood  around,  the  rosin  literally 
pouring  from  their  huge  trunks  and  a  light  murmur 
sounding  in  their  summits. 

"There  was  a  spirit  in  the  woods."  It  was  almost  as 
silent  as  within  the  sealed  chambers  yonder,  but  there  was 
a  rustling  in  the  forest.  Something  red  and  brown  was 
moving  about  there,  and  suddenly  the  twisted  antlers  of  a 
deer  emerged  majestically  from  among  the  boughs.  The 
graceful  animal  was  tame  and  gentle.  The  herd  soon 
followed  over  the  meadow  and  looked  fearlessly  at  me  with 
quiet  eyes. 

I  went  on  further  and  farther.  How  far  my  voyage  of 
discovery  extended  I  know  not,  but  hours  must  have 
elapsed  while  I  was  running  up  and  down  the  hill.  I  had 
not  the  least  idea  where  I  was,  but  I  felt  no  fear — the 
pure,  clear  air  had  taken  it  all  away.  The  hill  was  behind 
me  now  and  I  was  in  the  valley  once  more,  but  where? 
The  roads  crossed  each  other,  and  I  did  not  know  which  I 
was  to  take,  when  all  at  once  I  heard  a  man's  voice  to  my 
left,  coming  from  the  thicket.  I  recognized  it  at  once. 
It  was  that  of  the  kind  old  gardener,  endeavoring  in  soft 
coaxing  tones  to  calm  a  child  who  never  ceased  screaming. 
I  followed  the  sound  and  soon  stood  before  a  wall.  From 
that  point  the  wood  ceased;  it  was  the  boundary.  I 
longed  of  all  things  to  get  a  peep  at  the  little  screamer, 
but  over  that  wall  it  was  impossible;  it  was  high  and 
smooth  as  glass.  But  I  knew  how  to  climb  trees  like  any 
wild  cat.  It  had  been  nearly  as  favorite  a  habit  as  the 
foot-bath  in  the  water-mirror,  so  in  a  very  few  minutes  I 
was  seated  on  the  top  of  an  elm. 

I  could  overlook  an  immense  tract  and  a  great  expanse 
of  sky.  On  my  right  lay  the  city  and  its  spires,  sur- 
rounded by  magnificent  promenades;  then  came  the  river, 
the  same  that  flowed  through  the  Claudius  estate.  I  was 
quite  near  the  Carolinenlust  without  having  known  it,  for 
the  stream  was  only  a  few  feet  distant.  On  this  side  of 
the  river,  as  far  as  the  wood,  lay  charming  villas  sur- 
rounded by  pretty  gardens.  On  my  left,  so  near  that  I 
could  overlook  everything  in  the  upper  story,  stood  a 
pretty  little  Swiss  cottage.  The  spot  of  ground  on  which 


122  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

it  stood  was  circumscribed.  In  front  was  a  small  flower- 
garden  and  at  the  back  a  narrow  strip  of  grass,  over- 
shadowed by  a  magnificent  horse-chestnut  and  its  thick 
shady  boughs — that  was  the  one  and  only  tree  in  the  little 
demesne,  which  was  separated  from  the  Claudius'  wall 
only  by  ?.  broad  thoroughfare. 

The  old  gardener,  Schiifer,  was  walking  up  and  down 
under  the  shadow  of  the  balcony.  He  had  thrown  a  pink 
calico  cloak  over  his  shoulders  and  was  carrying  the 
screaming  little  monster  as  cannilyas  the  veriest  old  nurse 
could  have  done,  and  was  singing  every  imaginable  lullaby 
to  it,  in  evident  alarm.  On  the  grass  plot  behind  a  little 
girl  about  four  years  was  busily  playing.  She  had  on  an 
old  white  frock  and  long  flaxen  curls  fell  down  to  her 
waist.  The  little  creature  was  completely  engrossed 
with  her  delightful  game.  She  was  tearing  up  the  grass 
with  both  hands  and  loading  a  toy  wagon  with  it.  She 
never  allowed  the  screaming  to  affect  her  for  a  consider- 
able time,  but  at  last  she  went  into  the  garden,  plucked 
a  half-withered  gilliflower,  and  offered  it  to  her  naughty 
little  brother. 

"You  shouldn't  pull  the  flowers,  Gretchen;  papa  has 
forbidden  it!"  called  out  a  man's  voice  from  the  balcony 
overhead. 

The  southern  end  of  the  balcony  was  covered  so  luxu- 
riantly with  the  Virginian  creeper  (or  wild  vine)  that  not 
a  ray  of  sunshine  could  penetrate  the  bower  or  disclose 
the  table  laid  in  the  midst.  Young  Helldorf,  who  worked 
in  Herr  Claudius'  office,  stood  in  a  stooping  posture  under 
the  bower;  until  then  I  had  not  noticed  him.  He  had  a 
book  in  his  hand,  and  though  he  uttered  the  warning  in  a 
reproving  voice,  a  tender  smile  passed  over  his  face  as  he 
looked  at  the  charming  little  creature  standing  on  her 
tiptoes. 

Just  then  a  gentleman  crossed  the  bridge  with  a  lady 
leaning  on  his  arm.  They  paused  a  moment,  listening; 
then  the  lady  slipped  away  from  her  companion  and  ran 
on  in  advance  toward  the  impatient  child.  She  had 
evidently  been  at  church,  for  she  hastily  laid  a  prayer- 
book  on  the  nearest  spot  and  held  out  her  arms  to  the  boy, 
who  stopped  crying  at  the  first  sound  of  her  voice  and 
rushed  toward  her,  clapping  his  hands  vehemently.  She 
began  at  once  to  cover  him  with  tender  motherly  kisses. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  123 

Then  she  threw  her  other  arm  round  the  little  girl  and 
drew  her  toward  her.  The  little  lady  looked  very  delicate, 
and  one  could  have  fancied  that  the  fat  little  fellow's 
weight  would  have  broken  her  arm.  She  took  off  her 
straw  bonnet,  with  the  blue  strings  of  which  the  child  had 
been  playing,  and  disclosed  an  exquisitely  delicate  lily- 
white  face  beneath  a  cloud  of  very  fair  hair,  such  as  Gret- 
chen's. 

Meantime  her  husband  had  followed  her  into  the  garden. 
He  was  very  like  young  Helldorf ;  the  two  handsome  men 
were  evidently  brothers.  He  took  his  little  daughter  in 
his  arms  and  threw  her  up  in  the  air;  the  white  frock 
looked  like  a  summer  cloud;  the  golden  locks  waved  and 
fluttered  in  the  summer  breeze;  and  the  child  shrieked 
out  with  delight  up  toward  the  balcony,  "Uncle  Max, 
Uncle  Max,  do  you  see  me?" 

I  was  fascinated.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  seen 
domestic  happiness.  Delight  at  the  lovely  picture, 
mingled  with  a  vague  yearning  for  something,  I  knew  not 
what,  filled  my  soul  with  sadness.  No  mother  had  ever 
pressed  me  thus  passionately  to  her  heart.  I  had  never, 
like  yonder  baby  boy,  experienced  the  feeling  that  one 
sound  of  the  maternal  voice  sufficed  to  quell  every  sorrow. 
But  I  had  noticed  too,  with  secret  joy,  how  the  young 
mother  loved  her  children.  Ah,  how  she  was  to  be 
envied!  What  a  joy  must  that  be  to  have  those  little 
arms  laid  round  her  neck,  seeking  healing  and  consolation 
for  every  little  woe  from  her  hands. 

Gretchen  then  resumed  her  game  and  the  others  went 
into  the  house.  I  slipped  down  quietly  from  the  elm,  and 
creeping  along  the  wall,  came  to  a  gate  which  led  into  an 
opening.  There  was  a  key  in  the  lock;  it  was  covered 
indeed  with  rust  and  was  evidently  out  of  use.  But  my 
wish  to  speak  to  the  little  girl  gave  me  strength  and 
energy.  After  strenuous  efforts  the  key  at  last  turned 
in  my  hands  and  the  gate  opened  with  a  creak. 


XVI. 

I  RAN  across  the  highway  and  stepped  up  to  the  wicket. 
Gretchen  looked  at  me  with  amazement,  and  leaving  her 
little  carriage  ran  rapidly  toward  me. 


124  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Did  yon  open  that?"  she  inquired,  pointing  to  the 
open  gate  behind  me.  "May  you  do  that,  little  lady?" 

I  langhed  assent. 

"But  your  garden  is  not  pretty,"  she  said,  tossing  her 
little  head  scornfully  and  pointing  to  the  dark  green  on 
•which  the  gate  opened.  "You  haven't  got  one  single 
flower  in  it.  Look  at  ours.  Schafer  has  ever  so  many — 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  flowers!" 

"Yes,  but  you  mayn't  pull  any." 

"No,  I  mayn't  pull  any,"  she  said,  quite  crestfallen 
and  putting  her  tiny  finger  in  her  mouth. 

"But  I  know  plenty  of  blue  harebells  and  white  flowers 
that  you  may  pull,  and  strawberries,  too — your  little  cart 
full!" 

She  immediately  advanced  toward  me,  pulling  her  cart 
behind  her,  and  laid  her  hand  trustingly  in  mine;  it  felt 
like  a  little  bird,  so  soft  and  warm,  between  my  fingers. 

I  was  so  happy  in  my  new  acquaintance  that  it  never 
occurred  to  me  that  I  had  left  the  gate  open  behind  me 
while  we  wandered  on  into  the  copse.  There  lay  straw- 
berries and  harebells  as  profusely  scattered  as  though  the 
trees  were  dropping  with  them.  The  little  one  clapped 
her  hands  and  began  picking  and  plucking  as  if  she  in- 
tended to  carry  home  half  Herr  Claudius'  wood. 

"Oh,  what  a  lot  of  strawberries!"  she  whispered  softly 
to  herself,  while  she  kept  working  away  till  the  drops 
actually  stood  on  her  forehead  from  her  exertions.  She 
kept  humming  a  little  song  all  the  time  as  an  accompani- 
ment. 

"I  can  sing  too,  Gretchen,"  I  said. 

"As  pretty  songs  as  mine?  I  don't  believe  that.  Uncle 
Max  taught  them  to  me.  But  let  me  hear  one." 

My  ear  for  music  must  have  been  developed  very  early, 
for  all  the  songs  I  knew  were  those  Fiiiulein  Streit  had 
taught  me  in  the  back  room.  The  little  songs  for  children 
by  Taubert  were  my  special  favorites,  and  I  now  began 
siuging  "The  peasant  had  a  pigeon-house."  I  had  seated 
myself  on  a  stone  bench,  and  at  the  first  sound  Gretchen 
had  left  her  cart,  and  with  her  arms  resting  on  my  knees 
gazed  breathlessly  into  my  face. 

It  was  something  uncommon — I  was  startled  indeed  at 
my  own  voice.  In  the  haide  it  had  always  sounded  but 
faintly;  the  wind  had  carried  it  away  in  every  direction; 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  ^5 

but  here,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  caught  and  confined  by 
the  thick  inclosure  of  trees  on  every  side,  and  it  rose  so 
full  and  bell-like  that  I  could  scarcely  believe  it  was  my- 
self. 

The  song  of  the  peasant  and  his  pigeons  is  a  merry  one. 
Gretchen  laughed  heartily  at  it  and  clapped  her  hands 
with  delight  at  the  end  of  the  second  verse. 

"Did  he  find  the  pigeons  again?  Isn't  there  more  of 
it?"  she  inquired. 

I  began  again,  but  the  tones  suddenly  died  on  my  lips. 
From  my  position  on  the  stone  bench  I  was  able  to  com- 
mand a  good  view  into  the  wood  where  it  led  to  the  Caro- 
linenlust,  and  when  the  wind  blew  the  leaves  somewhat 
aside  I  could  see  the  shimmer  of  the  window-panes.  By 
this  path  the  old  bookkeeper  was  coming  toward  us,  and 
at  sight  of  his  silvery  head  and  lowering  countenance  I 
could  not  help  thinking  of  the  hail-storms  that  used  to 
pass  over  the  haide.  With  some  such  similitude  did  that 
powerful  form  strike  me  as  it  rapidly  advanced  toward 
me. 

Gretchen  followed  the  direction  of  my  eyes.  She  grew 
scarlet  and  with  a  cry  of  joy  bounded  toward  the  old 
gentleman  and  clasped  him  round  the  knees. 

"Grandpapa,"  she  called  out  tenderly,  throwing  her 
little  head  back.  -^^^ 

He  stood  as  if  turned  to  stone  and  looked  down  at  the 
child.  Both  his  arms  were  extended  like  one  whose 
progress  is  suddenly  arrested  by  an  awful  and  unexpected 
gulf,  and  in  this  position  he  remained  motionless.  He 
seemed  to  fear  that  if  he  let  his  hands  fall  they  might  per- 
chance touch  one  of  the  light  golden  hairs. 

"You  are  my  grandpapa,  are  you  not?  Louisa  said  you 
were." 

"Who  is  Louisa?"  he  asked  in  a  cold,  hard  voice,  which 
sounded  to  me  as  though  he  wished  by  this  question  to 
ward  off  all  further  discussion. 

"Why,  grandpapa,  our  Louisa!  She  nursed  my  little 
brother.  But  she  has  left  us  now.  We  cannot  have  a 
nursery-maid;  mamma  says  it  is  much  too  dear." 

A  slight  motion  passed  over  the  stony  face  just  then 
and  the  hands  sank  a  little. 

"What  is  your  name?"  he  asked. 

"Ah,   don't  you  know,  grandpapa?    Why,  Schafer's 


126  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

little  Caro  knows  it,  and  our  little  kitten  too.  I  am  called 
Gretchen.  But  I  have  more  names  than  that — beautiful 
names.  I  will  tell  them  to  you.  Anna  Marie  Helene 
Margarethe  Helldorf." 

She  told  off  this  solemn  recapitulation  on  her  tiny 
fingers.  There  was  an  indescribable  charm  in  the  voice 
and  whole  appearance  of  the  innocent  little  creature, 
against  which  even  the  old  man  was  not  proof,  and  all  at 
once  I  saw  the  jeweled  hand  laid  on  the  child's  head. 
He  bent  down — was  he  really  going  to  kiss  the  fair  young 
face?  Perhaps  if  he  had  been  given  time  to  take  the  little 
creature  in  his  arms  and  heart  to  heart  have  felt  the  same 
blood  pulsing  there — perhaps  that  might  have  been  a 
moment  on  which  angels  from  above  might  have  smiled. 
But  the  good  and  forgiving  emotions  which  arise  are  too 
often  marred  by  an  evil  destiny  which,  with  secret  malice, 
instils  poison  into  the  soul  and  separates  those  finer  threads 
by  which  we  should  become  truly  known  to  each  other. 

I  know  not  why  I  was  so  terrified  when  I  saw  a  woman's 
dress  fluttering  through  the  trees  and  coming  in  the 
direction  of  that  unlucky  gate.  It  advanced  in  great 
haste,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  young  lady  from  the  Swiss 
cottage  stood  a  few  paces  from  the  group.  She  uttered  a 
scream  and  hid  her  face  in  her  hands.  The  old  gentleman 
looked  up  startled,  and  never  shall  I  forget  the  expression 
of  icy  scorn  which  filled  the-**cepTy""affected,  handsome 
face. 

"Ah,  the  play  has  indeed  succeeded  admirably!  People 
understand  how  to  turn  their  children  to  account  and 
teach  them  well!" 

He  pushed  the  child  away  so  violently  that  it  fell. 

The  lady  went  and  took  it  in  her  arms. 

"Father,"  she  said,  raising  her  forefinger  warningly, 
"to  me  you  have  done  as  you  pleased ;  me  you  may  trample 
under  foot — I  bear  it  willingly;  but  you  may  not  touch 
my  child  with  the  tip  of  your  harsh  finger.  Don't  dare 
to  do  it  again." 

She  raised  the  little  one,  from  whose  now  pale  lips  no 
further  sound  issued. 

"I  don't  know  who  brought  the  child  here,"  she  con- 
tinued. 

"I  did,"  I  said,  stepping  forward  trembling.  "Forgive 
me." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

With  all  her  excitement  she  did  not  fail  to  turn  a  gentle 
glance  on  me,  though  only  for  a  moment,  as  she  continued 
addressing  the  old  man ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  this 
tender  form  had  become  suddenly  like  very  steel. 

"I  came  to  fetch  the  child  home;  she  was  absent  and 
the  forbidden  gate  stood  open.  With  nameless  terror  I 
flew  to  avert  the  moment  in  which  your  eye  might  fall 
upon  my  child — I  came  too  late.  After  a  desperate 
struggle,  my  father,  I  have  yielded  and  allowed  myself  to 
be  called  a  heartless,  thankless,  lost  child  by  you.  I  am 
powerless  against  your  charges,  to  which  the  world  says 
'Yes'  and  'Amen.'  But  as  a  mother  you  shall  not  attack 
me.  I  train  up  my  jewel,  my  precious  treasure" — and  she 
pressed  the  child  with  passionate  ardor  to  her  breast — 
"this  sweet,  holy  infant  to  act  a  part  in  pursuit  of  a  selfish 
object !  That  is  an  insult  I  will  not  endure,  which  I  repel, 
and  for  which  you  shall  one  day  answer  to  me  before  God." 

She  turned  away  and  disappeared.  I  thought  he  could 
not  choose  but  follow  the  deeply  offended  lady  and  clasp 
her  forgivingly  in  his  arms,  but  he  was  evidently  one  of 
those  narrow-minded  men  who  look  on  it  as  impossible 
for  them  to  make  a  mistake,  and  who,  if  such  a  suspicion 
ever  crosses  their  minds,  are  only  incited  the  more  to 
sullenness  and  severity 

He  cast  a  bitter --gkuafi^f^erthe  departing  lady,  and 
stepped  up  to  me  so  closelyana8o""6uddenly  and  with  such 
a  furious  aspect  that  I  retreated  into  the  bushes. 

"You,"  he  said,  addressing  me,  "how  could  you  dare 
to  open  a  fast-closed  door  when  you  had  no  right  to  do  so 
in  a  strange  place  like  this?" 

There  was  a  tone  of  fury  in  his  voice,  which  betrayed 
that  it  had  been  nourished  a  long  time  in  secret. 

There  I  stood  like  one  paralyzed;  I  could  move  neither 
hand  nor  foot.  And  oh,  what  was  to  become  of  me!  An- 
other came  to  the  help  of  this  dreadful  man.  Suddenly, 
as  if  he  had  sprung  out  of  the  ground,  I  saw  Herr  Claudius 
standing  beside  me;  he  must  have  come  out  of  the  thicket. 
I  looked  up  at  him.  He  had  on  the  blue  spectacles  and 
looked  still  paler  than  when  I  had  seen  him  at  the  office. 
Re  would,  I  felt  sure,  never  forgive  my  having  opened 
his  garden  door  in  that  manner  and  admitted  strangers. 
These  two  hard-hearted  men  were  both  about  to  pass 
sentence  on  me,  and  I  could  not  escape;  I  stood  defense- 


128  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOS.  T 

less  opposite  them.  Might  I  not  make  one  effort  to  call 
my  father  or  Use  to  my  assistance? 

"Herr  Claudius,"  began  the  bookkeeper,  strange  to  say 
much  struck  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  proprietor, 
"you  see  me  in  a  state  of  great  excitement.  I  came  here 
for  my  usual  Sunday  walk,  when " 

"I  have  witnessed  the  whole  occurrence,"  broke  in 
Herr  Claudius,  "from  behind  the  copse." 

"So  much  the  better,  because  you  will  acknowledge 
then  that  I  had  good  cause  for  my  annoyance.  First  of 
all,  a  distant  back  gate,  which  we  cannot  well  guard,  has 
been  opened  without  our  knowledge." 

"That  is  no  doubt  a  thing  not  to  be  permitted,  Herr 
Eckhof ,  but  in  your  zeal  you  have  forgotten  that  Fraulein 
von  Sassen  is  the  daughter  of  my  guest  and  must  not  be 
spoken  to  in  the  manner  and  way  you  just  now  allowed 
yourself." 

I  looked  up  in  astonishment  and  sought  the  eyes  with 
the  spectacles — things  were  taking  quite  a  different  turn 
from  what  I  expected.  The  bookkeeper,  on  the  one  hand, 
stepped  back,  looking  as  much  confounded  as  though  such 
an  answer  was  the  first  of  that  sort  he  had  ever  heard  from 
those  lips. 

"Fraulein  von  Sassen,"  he  repeated  spitefully.  "In 
what  am  I  to  respect  nobilitv?^ijtfiljwaot  iD  that  ridicu- 
lously dressed-out  chikW1^*" 

"It  did  not  occur  to  me  that  I  had  emphasized  the  noble 
name,"  answered  Herr  Claudias,  coloring  slightly.  "I 
merely  referred  to  the  respect  which  is  due  from  you  to 
every  guest  in  my  house  without  exception." 

"Well,  well,  you  will  live  to  see  what  kind  of  blessing 
such  friendship  as  this  will  bring  on  your  honorable  house. 
I  have  begged  and  prayed  enough — all  to  no  purpose! 
The  heathen  gods  have  been  dragged  to  light  once  more; 
and  yonder  in  the  Carolinenlust  sits  one  who  knows  no 
God,  but  erects  the  false  idols  once  more.  And  he  who 
now  holds  the  scepter,  the  godless  youth  upon  the  throne 
who  should  set  his  people  an  example  of  honesty  and 
sobriety  and  make  them  temples  of  praise  and  prayer — he 
is  helping  to  set  up  the  new  calf!" 

Herr  Claudius  listened  in  silence,  but  in  evident  per- 
plexity allowing  the  fanatical  zealot  his  own  way.  The 
old  man  spoke  visibly  from  full  conviction,  but  more  than 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  129 

probably  he  had  never  given  his  master  such  an  insight 
into  his  opinions  as  on  this  occasion,  when  he  was  carried 
away  by  excitement. 

"That  house  yonder,"  he  said,  raising  his  arm  and 
pointing  toward  the  Carolinenlust,  "that  house  was  built 
in  iniquity  and  has  remained  as  a  nest  for  vice;  and  those 
who  failed  in  obedience  to  the  old  masters  cannot  expect 
peace.  They  wander  hither  and  thither  prophesying  and 
lamenting  over  the  misfortunes  of  the  house  which " 

Herr  Claudius  raised  his  hand  to  stop  him. 

"Have  I  not  heard  it,  the  shriek  in  the  saloons  on  vhich 
the  seals  are  fastened?"  continued  the  old  man  in  a  still 
louder  voice.  "Have  I  not  seen  the  lamp  which  hangs 
from  the  ceiling  of  my  room  tremble  beneath  the  footsteps 
of  the  ghostly,  unquiet  spirits  which  wander  above?  I 
know  it — they  have  risen  from  their  graves:  they  are  con- 
demned to  return  to  the  world  and  warn  the  blind.  Herr 
Claudius,  the  day  on  which  that  young  person" — pointing 
toward  me — "entered  the  Carolinenlust  the  sealed  and 
built-up  chambers  overhead  became  inhabited." 

Was  it  then  possible?  This  man  had  been  watching 
me!  While  I  had  been  rummaging  unjustifiably  about 
the  sternly  guarded  chambers  of  the  dead,  those  sharp 
blue  eyes  had  been  fixed  on  the  lamp  below  and  observed 
each  of  my  steps  as  it  swung  beneath  them.  This  old 
man  had  heard  the  cry  I  uttered  on  seeing  my  own  reflec- 
tion, and  now  made  use  of  it  in  his  gloomy  rage  to  preju- 
dice the  owner  of  the  house  against  my  father  and  me. 

Involuntarily  I  glanced  at  Herr  Claudius.  His  face  was 
turned  toward  me,  but  the  blue  glasses  hid  his  eyes  so 
effectually  that  it  was  impossible  to  discover  what  impres- 
sion the  old  bookkeeper's  remarks  made  on  him.  He  had 
come  one  step  nearer  to  me.  Perhaps  terror  had  made 
me  color,  and  he  feared  an  exhibition  of  nerves  on  my 
part.  When,  however,  he  was  satisfied  that  ray  feet  were 
not  going  from  under  me  he  turned  once  more  toward  my 
grim  persecutor. 

"You  maintain,"  said  he,  "that  orthodoxy  must  finally 
lead  us  back  to  the  wildest  superstition."  There  was  a 
mixture  of  irritation  and  regret  in  his  ordinarily  calm 
voice.  "I  cannot  say  how  sorry  I  feel  to  see  you  falling 
into  this  dreadful  mysticism,  Herr  Eckhof.  My  attention 
has  already  been  directed  to  it,  but  I  would  not  believe  it. 


130  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

The  right  to  dictate  your  views  is,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
nothing  of  mine.  I  have  only  to  beg  you  not  to  brin^ 
them  forward  either  in  my  house  of  business  or  any  othe.* 
part  of  my  establishment." 

"I  shall  not  fail,  Herr  Claudius,"  replied  the  book- 
keeper, in  whose  peculiarly  subservient  tone  lay  a  world  of 
hidden  malice.  ''But  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a  re- 
quest also  on  this  spot.  I  have  inhabited  the  Carolinen- 
lust  now  for  many  long  years,  and  I  have  considered  it 
one  of  its  greatest  advantages  that  I  could  spend  my  Sun- 
day  here,  in  accordance  with  the  strict  directions  of  your 
predecessors,  in  quietness  and  undisturbed  meditation.  I 
therefore  beg  you  will  give  the  strictest  orders  that  the 
Sunday  calm  may  not  be  disturbed  by  such  unseemly  yell- 
ing. I  think  thus  much  consideration  may  be  accorded 
to  me — an  old  man." 

The  blue  spectacles  turned  toward  me  again,  and  I 
expected  a  stern  exhortation  to  obeying  rules  in  future, 
etc.,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  came. 

"I  heard  no  yelling,"  said  Herr  Claudius  very  quietly. 
"But  I  had  to  witness  a  scene  which  hurt  me  much. 
This  little  girl" — he  bent  his  head  in  my  direction — "with 
her  innocent  childish  song  did  nothing  to  transgress  God's 
commandment,  but  you,  Herr  Eckhof ,  came  straight  from 
church.  You  are,  as  you  have  proved  to  me  to-day,  one 
of  those  infallible  Christians  who  know  how  to  support 
every  action  of  theirs  with  the  law  of  God.  How,  then, 
did  you  find  it  possible  to  pollute  this  holy  day  with  the 
severity  and  implacability  you  showed  your  children 
yonder?" 

An  evil  glance  shot  from  under  the  dark  brows  at  the 
speaker. 

"I  have  no  children,  Herr  Claudius,  and  that  you  ought 
to  know  better  than  any  one  else." 

He  emphasized  the  "you"  as  though  it  were  intended 
to  inflict  a  wound. 

He  bowed  and  retraced  the  path  he  had  come  with  rapid 
strides.  I  felt  distinctly  that  it  was  the  intention  to  hurt 
and  silence  Herr  Claudius  by  the  so  characteristically 
marked  syllable,  and  I  looked  at  him — the  dagger  had 
struck  home ! 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


XVII. 

YES,  the  bookkeeper  must  have  succeeded  in  wounding 
Herr  Claudius  deeply.  After  a  slight  shudder  his  tall 
form  stood  erect  in  evident  amazement,  while  he  watched 
the  retreating  form  till  it  vanished  among  the  trees. 

I  wanted  to  seize  this  opportunity  for  escaping,  but  at 
the  faint  noise  occasioned  b,  my  moving  Herr  Claudius 
turned  round. 

"Wait,"  said  he,  putting  out  his  arm  to  prevent  my 
moving.  "The  old  man  was  greatly  excited,  and  I  should 
not  like  you  to  meet  him  again  just  now/' 

He  spoke  just  as  kindly  and  calmly  as  ever.  Should  I 
seize  this  opportunity  of  being  alone  with  him  to  confess 
the  cause  of  the  ghostly  sounds  in  the  bel-etage  at  the 
Carolinenlust?  No,  I  had  no  confidence  in  him  and  felt 
myself  in  his  presence  turned  to  ice.  Just  as  my  whole 
soul  had  felt  drawn  to  Charlotte  without  reserve,  so  on 
the  contrary  did  it  recoil  from  this  man  of  cold  calcula- 
tion, whose  peculiar  self-restrained  mode  of  action  and 
being  neither  allowed  to  himself  nor  others  any  extrava- 
gance. He  had  a  moment  ago  been  speaking  of  Christian 
love,  and  from  any  other  lips  I  should  have  reechoed  the 
words  with  all  my  heart;  but  from  his  lips  they  sounded 
only  like  the  result  of  a  clear,  passionless  understanding. 
He  had  taken  me  under  his  care,  but  I  was  not  altogether 
so  childish  or  void  of  judgment  as  not  to  know  that  that 
was  done  to  restrain  the  insolence  of  those  under  him.  I 
was  a  far  too  enthusiastic  pupil  of  Charlotte's  not  to  agree 
in  her  opinion  with  regard  to  this  man's  every  act. 

I  obeyed  him,  however,  and  waited  patiently  till  the 
heavy  footsteps  were  no  longer  audible.  Mechanically  I 
kept  making  a  pile  of  the  gravel  with  the  point  of  rny 
foot.  The  clumsy  shoe  was  thus  brought  full  to  light — 
what  did  I  care?  It  was  only  Herr  Claudius  that  was 
standing  beside  me  and  looking  at  it. 

"I  will  go  and  shut  the  gate,"  I  said,  breaking  the 
momentary  silence  as  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  it 
was  standing  wide  open.  I  wanted  to  beg  Herr  Claudius' 
pardon,  but  the  words  would  not  come  out. 

"Come,  then,"  said  he.  "I  cannot  understand  how 
your  tiny  hands  were  able  to  open  a  lock  now  rusted  for 
years." 


132  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  TU&  MOOR. 

"The  child,"  I  replied — and  at  the  remembrance  of  the 
little  darling  I  could  not  forbear  a  smile.  "I  was  deter- 
mined to  see  it  nearer,  and  the  people  that  all  looked  so 
happy  together.  I  have  never  known  what  it  is  to  see 
parents  fond  of  their  children." 

"Anpl  how  was  it  possible  for  you  to  see  into  this 
family?" 

I  pointed  quite  coolly  to  the  top  of  the  elm  which  we 
were  just  passing  under. 

"I  sat  up  there." 

He  smiled  secretly,  and  in  spite  of  the  spectacles  I  saw 
him  glance  at  my  left  side.  Involuntarily  my  eye  followed 
his,  and  oh,  misery!  what  should  I  see  but  an  enormous 
three-cornered  tear  in  my  unfortunate  black  frock,  and 
really  done  as  though  I  had  taken  the  measure  to  it. 

I  felt  my  cheeks  glow,  and  though  it  was  only  Herr 
Claudius,  for  all  that  I  felt  ashamed. 

"Oh — Use!"  was  all  I  could  say. 

"Don't  be  frightened.  We  won't  allow  Frau  Use  to 
scold  you,"  he  said  kindly,  but  in  just  such  a  tone  of  pro- 
tection as  he  might  have  used  to  little  Gretchen.  That 
annoyed  me.  I  did  not  consider  myself  so  small  and 
utterly  helpless  as  all  that,  and  at  that  moment  I  remem- 
bered how  different  Dagobert  was.  He  treated  me, 
especially  since  he  heard  I  was  going  to  court,  exactly  like 
a  grown-up  lady.  "Frau  Use  was  provided  for  accidents, 
too,"  continued  Herr  Claudius.  "She  asked  me  yester- 
day for  money  to  provide  a  court  dress  for  you,  but  I  will 
take  this  opportunity  to  call  your  attention  to  one  point. 
So  long  as  Frau  Use  remains  here  she  can  hold  these  mat- 
ters in  her  hands,  but  on  her  departure  I  must  beg  you 
will  always  apply  to  me  direct  yourself." 

"Must  that  be  so?"  I  inquired,  without  attempting  to 
conceal  my  displeasure. 

"Yes,  Fraulein  von  Sassen — it  must  be  so,  for  regu- 
larity's sake." 

"Well,  my  dear  grandmother  was  quite  right  in  detest- 
ing money — such  a  piece  of  work  about  a  few  thalers  pass- 
ing from  one  hand  to  another." 

He  smiled  at  me  and  said  kindly: 

"I  will  make  it  as  easy  to  you  as  I  can." 

"Bnt  must  I  go  into  your  dark  room  for  every  penny  I 
require?" 


THE  PHINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  133 

"Of  course.     Do  you  find  the  room  so  horrible?" 

"The  whole  front  house  is  so  cold  and  gloomy.  I  don't 
know  how  Charlotte  and  Fraulein  Fliedner  stand  it.  I 
should  die  of  nervousness  and  oppression."  Involuntarily 
I  pressed  both  hands  on  my  breast. 

"The  wicked  old  house.  It  has  endangered  a  woman's 
life  before  now,"  he  said,  smiling  faintly.  "And  no 
doubt  it  is  in  fault  now,  that  you  are  so  dissatisfied  with 
us." 

"Oh,  I  am  delighted  with  the  flower-garden,"  I  replied 
quickly  without  directly  answering  his  remark.  "It  seems 
to  me  like  a  whole  bookful  of  marvels  and  fairy-tales. 
Many  a  time  I  have  to  shut  my  eyes  and  hold  my  feet  and 
hands  tight,  or  I  should  be  tempted  to  throw  myself  head- 
long into  so  beautiful  a  bed  of  flowers." 

"Do  it  if  you  like,"  he  said,  with  his  kind,  quiet  air. 

I  looked  at  him  in  amazement. 

"And  nicely  you  would  scold!"  burst  from  me.  "How 
many  a  penny  bouquet  would  be  lost  to  you  thereby;  and 
oh,  how  many  packets  of  seed!" 

He  turned  away,  locked  the  gate,  and  took  the  key  out 
of  the  lock. 

"This  information  about  'penny  bouquets'  you  have 
acquired  doubtless  from  the  same  source  as  you  did  that 
of  the  back  room?"  he  said  as  soon  as  he  had  put  the  key 
in  his  pocket. 

I  was  silent — I  could  not  utter  Dagobert's  name.  It 
was  from  him  I  had  derived  the  "information,"  as  Herr 
Claudius  with  a  slight  trace  of  bitterness  called  it.  He 
did  not  ask  further. 

"But  does  neither  the  Carolinenlust  nor  yet  the  wood 
please  you?"  he  inquired. 

"It  is  very  pretty  here •" 

"But  not  half  so  pretty  as  in  the  haide — eh?" 

"I  don't  know — out  I  long  after  the  haide.  I  suffer 
terribly,  and  sometimes  so  much  that  I  should  like  to  dash 
my  head  against  these  endless  trees." 

This  complaint  came  almost  involuntarily  from  me.  No 
one  in  the  house  had  asked  me  that  question,  but  assumed 
on  the  contrary  that  the  change  must  be  quite  delightful 
to  me. 

"Poor  child!"  he  said — but  that  could  not  be  sym- 
pathy ;  it  was  only  that  nature  had  given  him  a  very  soft 
voice. 


134  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

We  were  just  passing  the  parterre  which  lay  in  front  of 
the  Carolinenlust.  Old  Erdrnann,  who  had  recently  for- 
bidden our  entrance  into  the  house,  was  standing  there. 
He  held  a  sieve  in  one  hand  and  with  the  other  was  scat- 
tering food  for  the  fowl.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  throw 
down  a  handful  of  corn  Herr  Claudius  stepped  up  to  him 
and  said : 

"You  feed  the  poultry  much  too  lavishly,  Erdmann. 
Go  into  the  copse  yonder  and  see  how  the  corn  is  growing 
up  in  such  quantities  that  the  animals  are  unable  to  keep 
it  under.  I  have  observed  it  with  great  displeasure." 
He  put  his  hand  into  the  sieve  and  let  the  corn  slip 
through  his  thin  fingers.  "That  is  pure  wheat,  Erdmann. 
I  must  scold  you.  You  know  very  well  that  such  needless 
waste  is  an  offense  to  me.  Here  corn  is  going  to  loss, 
while  many  a  poor  child  is  longing  vainly  for  a  crust  of 
bread." 

I  was  thoroughly  exasperated.  How  well  this  man 
knew  how  to  beautify  his  avarice!  He  didn't  scold  be- 
cause a  few  pence  were  lost  to  him  in  the  extravagant  use 
of  a  few  grains  of  wheat — oh,  dear,  no;  the  bread  which 
might  possibly  have  been  baked  out  of  the  lost  corn  for 
some  hungry  child — that  was  what  he  complained  of! 

Old  Erdmann  excused  himself  by  saying  that  there  was 
not  another  grain  of  barley  in  the  house,  and  made  a  hasty 
retreat  into  the  thicket  like  a  beaten  hound.  Oh,  those 
abominable  blue  glasses,  how  they  followed  him !  I  turned 
my  head  away  and  began  picking  and  plucking  needlessly 
at  the  leaves,  scattering  them  on  the  gravel. 

"What  has  the  poor  chocolate  bush  done  to  you?"  in- 
quired Herr  Claudius'  voice  close  to  me  as  softly  and  as 
calmly  as  though  it  were  not  he  who  had  just  been  scolding. 
"Just  suppose  for  one  moment  that  some  trace  of  home- 
sickness, such  as  you  suffer  from,  were  to  dwell  in  those 
petulantly  destroyed  blossoms." 

I  stooped  down,  hastily  gathered  up  the  scattered  leaves, 
laid  them  on  the  cool  sod,  and  covering  them  with  a  thick 
green  bough,  I  said:  "Now,  at  all  events,  they  will  die  in 
their  home;"  and  looked  whether  I  would  or  not  into  the 
blue  glasses. 

"Will  you  be  able  to  endure  staying  here?"  he  inquired. 

"I  must  bear  it.  I  am  to  be  educated  and  it  will  take 
two  years  for  that."  Involuntarily  I  folded  my  hands 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  135 

and  sighed.  "Two  long  years.  But  it  cannot  be  helped, 
and  I  know  now  myself  that  I  must  learn.  I  was  too 
ignorant  in  the  haide.  Little  Gretchen  over  there  knows 
more  than  I  do." 

He  laughed  gently. 

"Yes,  this  time  of  learning  and  enduring  is  no  doubt 
absolutely  necessary  for  you,  I  think,  when  I  recall  the 
difficulty  you  found  in  writing  your  own  name.  In  two 
years  you  can  learn  a  great  deal,  but  it  maybe  your  father 
and  others  also  may  wish  you  not  to  learn  a  great  deal 
which  the  world,  and  especially  court  life,  is  too  apt  to 
instil  into  the  young  mind.  Frau  Use  begged  me  yester- 
day to  watch  over  you." 

A  sudden  terror  shook  me.  I  would  not  bear  that.  I 
would  struggle  against  it  with  all  my  might.  Not  will- 
ingly, at  all  events,  would  I  place  myself  under  the  yoke 
that  Dagobert  and  Charlotte  were  groaning  under.  But 
it  was  singular  that  I  could  not  summon  courage  to  tell 
him  this  to  his  face. 

"I  don't  know  what  has  come  over  Use,"  I  said  timidly, 
"but  Fraulein  Fliedner  and  Charlotte  have  undertaken 
that  long  ago;  and  I  am  so  fond  of  Charlotte  I  shall  cer- 
tainly obey  her." 

"That  must  be  avoided,"  he  answered  gravely.  "In 
Fraulein  Fliedner's  hands  you  are  safe;  Charlotte,  on  the 
contrary,  has  far  too  much  to  dp  with  herself  to  undertake 
your  education.  If  I  were  to  give  her  unlimited  influence 
over  an  inexperienced  nature  she  ought  herself  to  be  a 
model  in  every  respect — she  is  far  removed  from  that. 
Charlotte's  nature  is  a  noble  one  at  the  bottom,  but  there 
is  some  dross  in  it.  1  know  that  I  shall  often  need  to  step 
between  you  both  in  warning  and  forbidding  " 

If  I  had  ever  had  one  spark  of  sympathy  for  this  man, 
his  last  remorseless  verdict  drove  it  out  of  me.  He  was 
evidently  revenging  himself  now  bitterly  for  Charlotte's 
silly  chattering  about  the  back  room.  I  knew  it — and 
there  was  the  low,  mean  way  of  revenging  himself  which 
irritated  Dagobert.  And  now  was  to  be  fulfilled  what 
even  in  the  haide  I  had  so  much  dreaded,  and  Use  was 
alone  to  blame.  The  man  who  was  himself  glued  from 
morning  till  night  to  his  account-books;  who  held  his 
watch  with  such  an  impertinent  air  to  his  unfortunate 
people  if  they  failed  in  appearing  punctually  to  the  very 


136  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

moment  in  his  dark,  dreary  cell;  who  on  every  occasion 
possible  counted  each  grain  thrown  to  the  poultry — to  this 
stiff,  rusty  old  miser  was  Use  without  a  scruple  consigning 
me!  He  would  stick  me  between  four  walls,  have  me 
taught,  and  those  abominable  blue  spectacles  would  be 
prying  into  everything  I  did.  He  already  spoke  of  for- 
oidding,  and  laid  special  stress  on  my  bad  writing,  which 
must  be  improved.  If  he  had  purposely  sought  for  some 
way  of  setting  my  whole  being  up  iu  arms  against  him  he 
could  not  have  chosen  a  better  than  this  detested  one  of 
copy-writing  which  he  selected  as  the  first  to  prescribe. 
He  awakened  something  of  the  cat's  sly  malice  in  me. 

"You  will  make  me  write  a  great  deal,  won't  you?"  I 
said,  assuming  a  quiet  and  apparently  submissive  air. 

"And  you  don't  feel  inclined  for  that,"  he  said. 

Instead  of  answering  me — how  detestable! — he  read  my 
thoughts  in  my  face. 

"No, not  the  very  least  inclination,"  I  acquiesced  angrily. 
"Put  me  in  the  library  upstairs  and  let  me  read,  and  even 
though  I  might  not  inhale  a  breath  of  fresh  air  or  see  a 
green  leaf  for  months,  still  I  will  endure  it;  but  write! 
No,  it  is  dreadful  to  be  gazing  incessantly  at  that  white 
paper  and  copying  one  straight  and  one  crooked  stroke 
after  another,  while  the  whole  thing  keeps  whirling  and 
dancing  in  your  head  and  before  your  eyes,  and  one's  feet 
won't  keep  quiet  under  the  table.  Then  my  head  gets 
hot  and  my  temples  begin  to  throb;  then  I  must  jump 
up  and  run,  run  as  far  as  my  feet  will  carry  me." 

He  smiled  down  upon  me. 

"I  can  easily  imagine  that  your  whole  being  rises  against 
pure  mechanical  labor,"  he  said.  "You  don't  yet  under- 
stand that  the  pen  becomes  an  animated  and  fleet  subject 
in  our  hands,  that  it  can  give  form  to  all  that  'dances  and 
whirls  in  your  head' — how  could  you?  But  ask  your 
father.  He  has  done  science  incalculable  service  with"  the 
pen  in  his  hand;  he  would  not  wish  to  live  deprived  of  it." 

"Well,  then,  I  will  tell  you,  that  is  just  one  of  the  reasons 
I  can't  bear  it,"  I  grumbled  out.  "Is  there  anything 
more  beautiful  than  that  blue  sky  above,  the  delicious  air 
around,  and  the  whole  solemn  Sabbath  morning?  And 
there  sits  my  poor  dear  father  up  there,  behind  those 
great  heavy  window-curtains,  among  the  musty  books  that 
smell  of  leather  and  moldy  paper  and  that  are  just  one 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TBtf  MOOR. 

mass  of  dust;  and  there  he  writes  until  his  fingers  can  no 
longer  hold  the  pen;  and  he  has  forgotten  long  ago, 
engrossed  in  that  way,  how  beautiful  the  world  is.  And 
then  when  I  go  in  he  looks  up  startled  and  has  to  think 
awhile  before  he  remembers  I  am  his  child.  My  mother 
too  was  a  writer.  She  never  took  me  in  her  arms,  never 
comforted  me  when  I  had  been  crying,  and  I  have  no 
desire  to  grow  like  that — none  whatever!" 

By  this  time  we  had  reached  the  hall  and  stood  at  the 
entrance  of  the  corridor  off  which  my  room  opened.  Herr 
Claudius  took  off  his  spectacles  and  put  them  in  his  pocket, 
and  though  it  was  only  Herr  Claudius  and  I  could  not 
endure  him,  for  all  that  his  eyes  were  remarkably  beauti- 
ful— they  had  just  the  same  effect  upon  me  as  the  full 
noonday  sun.  They  looked  mild  and  gentle,  but  if  you 
sought  to  peer  into  them  further  your  own  drooped  before 
the  light  that  shone  in  them. 

Now  I  was  completely  silenced.  The  spectacles  had 
been  my  bulwark,  and  with  them  retreated  every  spark  of 
courage  I  possessed  into  the  furthest  corner  of  my  soul. 
Just  then  I  heard  footsteps  approaching  the  house  and 
Use's  voice  already  in  the  distance  saying: 

"Don't  take  it  ill  of  me,  young  lady,  but  that  is  a  habit 
I  cannot  endure.  A  pretty  young  lady  like  you  and  smok- 
ing like  a  chimney!'' 

"Oh,  you're  only  afraid  that  the  brilliant  pensees  on 
your  bonnet  will  be  spoiled  by  the  tobacco-smoke,  Frau 
Use,"  laughed  Charlotte. 

"Nonsense — never  even  thought  of  it;  but  I  tell  you 
what,  if  I  thought  that  child  there  would  ever  put  such  a 
thing  between  her  teeth  I  would  pack  up  with  her  on  the 
spot " 

She  stopped,  for  she  had  come  in  and  now  saw  us. 
Charlotte,  who  was  beside  her,  had  a  cigarette  between 
her  coral  lips,  and  her  laughing  face  was  enveloped  in  a 
thick  cloud  of  tobacco-smoke,  which  she  had  doubtless 
puffed  out  purposely  to  shock  Ilse.  At  the  sight  of  Herr 
Claudius,  however,  she  drew  back  in  evident  confusion; 
she  colored  violently  and  took  the  cigarette  quickly  out  of 
her  mouth.  Her  appearance  made  me  inclined  to  laugh, 
and  the  dexterity  with  which  she  handled  the  cigarette 
won  my  admiration  more  strongly  than  ever. 

Herr  Claudius  appeared  not  to  notice  her. 


138  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"You  are  right— don't  allow  that,  Fran  Ilae,"  he  said 
quietly.  "Your  bonnet  will  not  be  the  worse,  indeed,  for 
the  tobacco-smoke;  but  it  obscures  the  soft  bloom  and 
modesty  of  womanhood.*' 

Charlotte  flung  the  cigarette  into  the  pond  with  a 
gesture  of  defiance  and  impatience. 

"Have  you  attended  to  the  invitations,  Charlotte?"  he 
inquired  as  quietly  as  though  he  were  unconscious  of  the 
passion  which  worked  in  her  fingers  and  flashed  from  her 
eyes. 

"Not  yet.  Erdmann  will  take  them  toward  even- 
ing " 

"Well,  don't  forget  to  send  Helldorf  a  card." 

"Helldorf,  uncle!"  she  repeated  in  surprise,  as  though 
she  could  not  believe  her  ears,  while  a  bright  flush  suffused 
her  cheeks. 

"Yes,  I  wish  him  to  dine  with  us  to-morrow.  Have 
you  anything  to  say  against  it?" 

"Oh,  not  that — but  it  is  something  new,"  she  replied, 
hesitating. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  slightly,  raised  his  hat,  and 
went  upstairs.  He  did  not  go  into  the  library.  I  heard 
him  open  a  door  above  it. 

"Is  the  world  suddenly  turned  upside  down?"  said 
Charlotte,  who  had  stood  motionless,  listening  to  the 
retreating  footsteps  until  the  door  had  closed  on  them. 
"That  will  make  a  nice  piece  of  work.  I  will  give  my 
head  for  a  halfpenny  if  Eckhof  doesn't  sour  our  soup  for 
us  to-morrow." 

"What  has  the  old  bookkeeper  to  do  with  the  kitchen?" 
inquired  Use  irritably.  His  incessant  singing  had  utterly 
ruined  him  in  her  opinion. 

"My  dear  Frau  Use,"  said  Charlotte,  "I  will  just  give 
you  one  piece  of  information.  In  the  business  horizon  of 
the  Firma  Claudius  one  sun  alone  circles  in  its  orbit  and 
that  sun  is — Herr  Eckhof.  Uncle  Eric,  of  course,  does  as 
he  pleases;  but  he  still  pays  respect  to  the  advice  and 
wishes  of  this  same  old  bookkeeper  in  a  way  that  enables 
the  modest  luminary  to  be  virtually  ruler.  Now,  Eckhof 
and  Helldorf  are  enemies  to  the  death,  whether  rightly  or 
wrongly  I  cannot  say,  and  I  care  not  the  least  about  it, 
since  both  are  utterly  unknown  to  me.  One  tiling  alone  I 
know,  that  to  this  hour  Helldorf  has  never  formed  one  of 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  139 

a  party  here,  simply  because  Herr  Eckhof  didn't  wish  it. 
Now,  to-morrow  he  is  all  at  once  to  take  part  at  a  dinner 
given  by  my  uncle  to  some  particular  American  friends. 
Eckhof  will  rage  and  storm  and  quote  the  ancient  rules  of 
the  house;  for  this  distinction  about  to  be  conferred  on 
Helldorf  has  been  hitherto  confined  to  venerable  bald- 
pates  or  firms  of  world-wide  celebrity.  I  tell  you  the 
world  is  turned  upside  down,  and  it  would  not  in  the  least 
surprise  me  if  the  statues  yonder,"  pointing  to  a  group  in 
the  center  of  the  pond,  "were  to  stand  up,  make  a  bow, 
and  inform  us  that  we  are  pretty  girls." 

I  could  not  help  laughing,  and  even  Use  grinned  despite 
herself. 

"What  is  Herr  Claudius  doing  upstairs?"  I  inquired. 
I  could  not  believe — indeed,  the  very  idea  irritated  me — • 
that  "that  dealer,"  as  my  father  called  him,  should  ba 
walking  about  the  domain  of  science. 

"He  is  fumbling  among  his  telescopes,  no  "doubt. 
Haven't  you  seen  the  two  excrescences  on  the  Carolinen- 
lust?  One  forms  the  dome  of  the  antique  cabinet  and  the 
other  Uncle  Eric  has  arranged  as  an  observatory.  That 
looks,  doesn't  it,  as  if  he  too  had  some  higher  interests? 
Don't  believe  it.  One  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  busi- 
ness; he  counts  the  stars  in  the  sky  just  as  he  does  the 
thalers  in  the  counting-house."  She  put  her  hand  in  her 
pocket  and  drew  out  a  small,  thin  packet.  "And  now 
with  regard  to  what  I  came  about.  Here  are  the  stockings 
— a  dozen  pairs — that  I  wrote  to  K.  for  for  you.  They 
have  just  arrived,  and  to-morrow  the  dressmaker  will  bring 
your  dress." 

"Don't  be  deceived,  miss;  that's  never  a  dozen,"  said 
Use,  taking  the  little  packet  and  weighing  it  on  her  broad 
hand.  It  looked  like  perhaps  one  pair  of  the  famous 
haide  woolen  stockings.  She  opened  the  parcel,  and  an 
exquisitely  fine,  delicate  fabric  like  lace  fell  out. 

"So,"  she  said  grimly.  "That  is  beautiful.  The  little 
one  can  run  about  barefooted  in  K.  too;  for  these  elegant 
things  won't  last  long  enough  ever  to  see  a  bleach-green 
or  a  washing-line.  Ah,  my  poor  mistress'  money!" 

She  left  us  standing  there  and  went  off  angrily. 

"Don't  give  in,  little  one,"  said  Charlotte  in  her  most 
decided  tone.  "I  wear  nothing  else  summer  and  winter, 
and  if  fifty  Frauleiu  Fliedners  turned  up  their  noses  at 


140  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

such  so-called  extravagance,  I  have  a  sensitive  Parisian 
skin,  and  you  must  make  capital  out  of  your  position. 
Basta!" 

She  tripped  away,  and  I  followed  Use  with  a  somewhat 
anxious  heart.  She  had  just  taken  off  her  bonnet  and 
laid  it  and  her  prayer-book  aside.  She  was  standing 
before  the  flower-table  in  my  room,  her  color  very  high. 
The  stand  looked  ill  and  neglected.  I  had  looked  on  the 
flowers  from  the  first  with  an  unfavorable  eye  and  had 
never  watered  them,  though  Use  had  given  me  strict  orders 
to  do  so.  And  now  the  splendid  blossoms  were  hanging 
their  pretty  heads  low  and  faded. 

Use  never  uttered  a  word,  but  simply  pointed  to  my 
work.  A  spirit  of  contradiction  and  sulkiness  came  over 
me,  and  I  grumbled  out: 

"What  do  I  care  about  the  table?  I  don't  see  why  I 
should  trouble  myself  about  the  flowers.  I  never  asked 
Herr  Claudius  for  them,  so  why  does  he  have  them  put  in 
my  room?  He  may  take  care  of  them  himself." 

"That's  right — you're  improving,"  she  said  in  a  cold 
voice.  "Lace  on  your  feet  and  ingratitude  in  your  heart. 
Lenore,  you  shall  never  return  to  the  Dierkhof,  and  I — I 
will  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  you." 

With  a  loud  scream  I  threw  myself  on  her  breast.  Her 
voice  had  gone  through  my  heart  like  a  dagger. 

"Your  grandmother  called  you  her  little  dove,"  she 
continued  remorselessly.  "A  nice  dove!  If  she  had  only 
known  what  was  in  you  she  would  have  called  you 

"Little  devil,"  I  put  in,  furious  and  enraged  with  my- 
self. "Yes,  Use,  that  is  just  what  I  am.  I  have  a  bad, 
wicked  heart,  but  I  never  knew  *  and  now  it  is  always 
coming  up." 


XVIII. 

THE  next  morning  my  father  informed  me  that  the 
Princess  Margarethe  wished  to  see  me  that  evening  at  six 
o'clock.  A  footman  came  in  addition  to  mention  the  hour 
I  was  to  appear,  the  princess  evidently  knowing  my 
father's  memory  was  not  trustworthy.  Since  yesterday 
too  he  had  been  far  more  absent  and  reserved  than  usual. 
About  noon  a  very  elegantly  dressed  gentleman,  with  a 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  141 

little  box  under  his  arm,  had  been  shown  np  to  the  library 
and  remained  there  a  long  time  in  conversation  with  my 
father,  and  when  at  a  later  hour  he  went  to  the  princess, 
he  entirely  forgot  to  bid  me  good-by.  I  heard  his  step  in 
the  hall  and  ran  to  meet  him,  and  noticed  the  feverish 
flush  of  his  cheek.  His  eyes  had  an  unusual  glitter  in 
them,  and  his  hair  was  tossed  as  if  his  hands  had  been 
incessantly  run  through  it.  Dinner-time  came.  I  could 
eat  but  little.  I  felt  so  nervous  and  terrified  at  the  pros- 
pect of  seeing  the  princess,  whom  I  pictured  to  myself 
dressed  out  in  stiff  brocades  and  a  crown  sparkling  with 
jewels  upon  her  head.  Added  to  this,  my  father's  appear- 
ance startled  me.  He  never  touched  a  morsel,  but  kept 
incessantly  making  little  bread-pellets  and  staring  at. 
vacancy.  He  was  evidently  struggling  with  himself  to 
say  something.  His  eye  fell  every  now  and  then  inquir- 
ingly on  Use,  who  all  unconscious  eat  away  with  excellent 
appetite,  repeatedly  assuring  us  that  nowhere  on  earth 
were  such  mealy  potatoes  to  be  found  as  at  the  Dierkhof, 
because  the  soil  there  was  sandy. 

"My  good  Use,  I  want  to  ask  you  something,"  said  my 
father  suddenly,  and  the  words  sounded  as  short  and  con- 
fused as  though  they  had  been  wrenched  from  him. 

She  looked  up  from  her  plate. 

''Didn't  you  bring  my  mother's  papers — her  last  be- 
quests— here  with  you?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  she  replied  attentively,  laying  down  her 
fork. 

He  put  his  hand  in  his  breast-pocket  and  drew  something 
out  carefully  which  was  wrapped  up  in  silver  paper.  His 
hand  trembled  and  his  eyes  glittered  as  he  opengd  the  soft 
silken  case.  A  splendid  and  very  large  medal  came  to 
light. 

:'Look  at  that,  Use.     What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

"It  is  a  beautiful  thing,"  she  said,  nodding  her  head 
approvingly. 

"And  just  think,  it  is  to  be  had  ridiculously  cheap. 
For  3,000  thalers  I  can  have  a  medal  which  among 
judges  would  fetch  at  least  12,000  thalers."  His 
ordinarily  gentle,  quiet  face  lighted  up  with  something  of 
ecstasy.  "It  is  the  first  happy  chance  in  my  existence. 
Hitherto  I  have  obtained  everything  with  heavy,  often- 
times incalculable  sacrifices,  and  just  at  this  moment — 


142  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Use,  dear  Use,  yon  would  lay  me  under  a  life-long  obliga- 
tion if  you  would  let  me  have  3,000  thalers  of 
the  money  intrusted  to  your  care.  Lenore  will  be  none 
the  worse,  for  I  pledge  you  my  word  this  valuable  article 
contains  in  itself  three  times  the  amount  demanded." 

"Yes,  yes,  that  may  be;  but  how?  Is  that  worth  it?" 
and  she  tipped  the  medal  with  her  fingers  so  as  to  make 
my  father  shudder  nervously. 

"How  do  you  mean?"  he  asked  slowly. 

"I  mean  would  a  merchant  take  it  as  payment?" 

My  father  started  back  as  though  she  had  stabbed  him. 

"No,  Use,"  he  replied,  after  a  dejected  pause;  "that  is  a 
mistake.  This  kind  of  money  cannot  pass  in  exchange; 
it  can  only  be  resold." 

"So  then  the  3,000  thalers  would  lie  in  a  box  to 
be  looked  at,  just  for  all  the  world  like  the  broken  stuff 
upstairs?  But  the  child  can  neither  feed  nor  clothe  her- 
self out  of  that.  Sir,  I  told  you  on  the  spot  the  money 
was  not  to  be  touched.  When  I  used  to  carry  parcel  after 
parcel  to  the  post  in  Hanover,  which  I  hated  doing  and 
always  made  a  sour  face  at,  my  poor  mistress  used  to  say, 
'Use,  you  don't  understand.  My  son  is  a  man  of  celebrity 
and  this  belongs  to  it.'  I  was  dumb  and  couldn't  under- 
stand for  my  life  why  your  being  a  man  of  celebrity 
should  make  my  mistress  so  poor  and  oblige  her  to  sell  all 
the  old  plate,  rings,  bracelets,  and  chains  belonging  to  the 
Jacobsohn  family.  Still  less  can  I  comprehend  that  the 
child's  little  inheritance  is  now  to  be  swallowed  up  also. 
Don't  take  it  ill,  sir,  but  it  always  seemed  to  me  as  if  that 
inhuman  quantity  of  money  was  buried  in  a  great  bottom- 
less pit,  for  one  never  saw  or  heard  more  of  it.  It  may  be, 
to  be  sure,  that  it  is  in  your  business,  and  that  later,  when 
that  is  sold " 

My  father  bounded  up.  He  could  bear  everything 
except  the  idea  that  a  stranger's  hand  would  ever  meddle 
with  his  collections.  He  held  up  both  his  hands,  en- 
raged. 

She  paused  a  moment,  then  continued  undismayed: 

"Besides,  I  have  no  longer  any  power  over  the  money. 
It  lies  now  in  the  safe  in  the  front  house.  You  would  not 
undertake  the  care  of  it,  sir,  so  I  gave  it  to  Herr  Claudius, 
and  he  is  not  a  man  to  be  played  with,  who  takes  to-day 
and  gives  back  to-morrow,  like  some  people.'' 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  143 

My  father  wrapped  up  the  medal  without  another  word 
and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 

His  depression  went  to  my  very  heart,  but  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done.  Use  exhibited  the  utmost  satisfac- 
tion at  having  placed  the  money  in  safe  keeping.  I  was 
afraid  of  those  hard  light-colored  eyes  and  did  not  venture 
on  a  word  of  remonstrance  when  my  father  had  returned 
to  the  library. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  pretty  little  house- 
maid, who  acted  as  Charlotte's  maid  too,  came  into  my 
room.  She  had  a  small  covered  basket  on  her  arm,  and 
as  the  light  breeze  lifted  the  cloth  thrown  over  it,  tulle 
puffings  trimmed  with  tiny  black  leaves  peeped  out. 

"Frjiulein  Claudius  sent  me  to  try  these  on,"  she  said, 
emptying  the  basket.  While  doing  so  she  assured  Use 
that  the  house  in  the  front  part  was  being  turned  out  of 
the  windows. 

"Just  think,"  she  said;  "we  have  gentlemen  to  dinner. 
Every  one  is  on  foot,  running  to  and  fro,  when  on  a  sud- 
den Herr  Claudius — can  you  believe  it? — gives  orders  that 
the  counting-house  is  to  be  removed  to  the  yard,  and  with- 
out further  delay  of  course  all  hands  were  at  work.  Just 
think,  the  counting-house  where  the  Claudius'  have 
worked  for  more  than  a  hundred  years!  No  one  ever 
dared  so  much  as  to  move  a  press,  and  now,  of  a  sudden, 
all  the  musty,  dusty  affairs  are  to  be  removed  carefully  out 
of  the  dismal  old  room  into  one  full  of  sunshine.  They'll 
be  astonished!  -And  the  upholsterer  has  been  hanging  up 
green  curtains,  because  the  light  is  too  strong  for  Herr 
Claudius'  weak  eyes.  Somebody  should  write  a  poem 
about  it — nobody  in  the  house  can — but  old  Erdmann  is 
going  about  quite  pale.  He  thinks  it  means  that  the  end 
of  the  world  is  coming." 

I  listened  with  only  one  ear — what  did  I  care  about 
Herr  Claudius'  counting-house?  My  eyes  were  engaged 
watching  the  marvels  that  the  speaker's  hands  were  un- 
folding. Use  too  watched  each  object  with  a  critical 
glance,  and  her  fingers  to  my  horror  kept  pulling  and 
dragging  the  light  fabric  of  my  dress  to  see  how  far  it  was 
durable.  But  when  the  waiting-maid  finally  drew  a  pair 
of  fairy  satin  slippers  from  the  bottom  of  the  basket  and 
hold  them  up  to  my  admiring  gaze,  Use  abruptly  and  with- 
-«.  word  left  the' room. 


144  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

I  had  become  wonderfully  hardened,  however.  This 
exit  of  Use's  did  not  give  me  the  least  trouble.  On  the 
contrary,  I  felt  as  if  a  stone  were  lifted  off  my  breast  as 
her  skirt  vanished  through  the  door.  Eight  and  left  the 
clumsy  masterpieces  of  the  haide  shoemaker's  craft  were 
tossed  away.  Use  was  right:  in  the  "lace"  and  satin  I 
felt  quite  "barefoot  and  as  if  the  haide  wind  was  playing 
round  my  feet  once  more. 

Then  the  maid  enveloped  me  in  the  cloud  of  gauze, 
sticking  a  black  silk  bow  here  and  there — gossamer  wher- 
ever I  looked.  It  covered  my  arms  and  shoulders  and 
flowed  down  from  my  waist  to  my  feet;  and  I  was  to  wear 
this — I?  It  was  too  much;  I  must  run  away. 

''Stop!  stop!"  called  out  the  maid.  "The  bow  upon 
the  left  shoulder;  you  can't  appear  before  any  one  without 
that." 

But  I  had  no  ears  for  that.  I  was  already  flying 
through  the  hall,  then  over  the  bridge  and  through  the 
flower-garden,  my  white  garment  floating  round  me  like 
a  summer  cloud  the  while. 

The  front  house  had  no  horrors  for  me  to-day.  I  ran 
tip  the  winding  stair  to  Charlotte's  room,  passing  old 
Erdmann  in  the  corridor  standing  as  stiff  as  a  poker  and 
holding  a  napkin  in  his  hand.  His  eyes  grew  round  with 
amazement,  and  it  struck  me  he  tried  to  catch  my  dress  to 
hold  me  back  as  I  flew  past.  But  what  did  it  matter 
what  the  cross  old  creature  wanted?  I  darted  into  the 
room  without  waiting. 

The  windows  of  this  apartment  looked  into  the  garden 
and  court,  and  despite  the  dismal  effect  of  the  dark  carpet 
and  heavy  brown  curtains  it  was  the  pleasantest  place  in 
the  house.  A  splendid  piano  stood  opposite  the  door,  at 
which  Charlotte  was  seated.  Her  fingers  lay  on  the  keys 
as  if  beginning  to  play.  Fraulein  Fliedner  sat  near  her  in/ 
a  pearl-gray  dress  and  pretty  lace  cap — more  I  did  not  see. 

"Oh,  Fraulein  Charlotte,"  I  exclaimed,  "do  look  at 
me!  What  do  you  think  of  me  now?"  I  held  up  one  of 
the  floating  puffs.  "Don't  they  look  like  wings — like  real 
wings?  Oh,  and  my  shoes;  you  must  see  my  shoes!"  I 
lifted  my  dress  gently  and  let  the  glossy  satin  appear. 
"Now  you  won't  hear  the  'patter,  patter'  that  my  horrid 
boots  make.  Just  listen  if  there  is  a  bit  of  noise  as  I 
walk  along,"  and  I  marched  up  to  them,  stamping  my 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  145 

feet  as  the  soldiers  do.  "I  don't  look  a  'ridiculously 
dressed  baby,'  as  Herr  Eckhoff  calls  me,  now,  do  I?" 

"No,  no,  haide  princess,"  she  exclaimed.  "Who  could 
have  imagined  the  chrysalis  contained  such  a  butterfly?" 

She  laugh od  and  laughed  till  I  thought  she  would  never 
stop,  and  even  Fraulein  Fliedner  held  her  handkerchief 
to  her  lips  and  looked  with  laughing  eyes  behind  me — I 
supposed  at  the  wall. 

*'Have  you  seen  yourself  in  the  glass  yet?"  asked  Char- 
lotte. 

"Oh,  no,  I  hadn't  time;  and  besides,  there  is  no  need. 
I  can  see  my  dress  and  shoes  just  as  well  without  one." 

"Oh,  but  you  must  take  one  look,"  she  said,  laughing, 
and  pointed  to  the  lofty  mirror  which  stood  between  the 
windows. 

I  turned  unsuspiciously  and  glanced  at  it.  I  could  not 
suppress  a  cry  at  the  scene  reflected  therein  and  buried  my 
face  in  my  hands.  The  faintest  recollection  of  the  din- 
ner-party in  the  front  house  had  not  even  crossed  my 
mind,  and  there  I  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  company. 
Behind  me  and  facing  the  mirror  stood  folding  doors  lead- 
ing into  the  reception-room.  Hitherto  I  had  always  seen 
them  locked,  but  to-day  both  sides  were  thrown  wide  open 
and  Dagobert  stood  on  the  threshold.  His  brown  eyes 
met  mine  laughingly.  He  wore  a  crimson  collar  round 
his  throat  and  gold  glittered  on  his  shoulders  and  breast; 
he  was  evidently  in  uniform.  Behind  him  were  several 
other  gentlemen  apparently  much  amused,  and  on  a  sofa 
near,  beside  an  old  gentleman,  sat  Herr  Claudius.  One 
glance  showed  me  all  this. 

I  trembled  violently  and  tears  of  shame  and  vexation 
rushed  to  my  eyes,  when  suddenly  two  cool  hands  were 
laid  on  mine  and  drew  them  gently  down.  Herr  Claudius 
had  sprung  up  and  was  standing  before  me. 

"You  are  startled,  Fraulein  von  Sassen,"  he  said.  "It 
was  a  naughty  jest  of  Charlotte's.  She  must  beg  your 
pardon  for  it." 

He  led  me  to  an  arm-chair  and  made  me  lean  back  on 
the  cushions. 

"I  think  you  may  begin  your  speech  now,"  he  said, 
turning  to  Charlotte. 

"Instantly,  uncle  dear."  She  flew  up  to  me,  sank  on 
one  knee,  and  took  my  hand.  "Will  your  highness  deign 


146  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

to  pardon  a  poor  penitent,"  she  begged  playfully,  "who 
implores  forgiveness?  But  only  from  you,  haide  princess. 
From  all  the  others  I  demand  thanks  for  having  prolonged 
so  pretty  a  sight." 

I  had  to  laugh,  though  tears  still  stood  in  my  eyes. 
How  could  she  fall  on  her  knee  thus  before  so  many 
strangers?  That  specially  awoke  my  astonishment  and 
admiration,  for  I  myself  would  rather  have  crept  into  a 
mouse-hole ! 

She  stroked  my  hair  caressingly,  and  then  rising,  seated 
herself  once  more  at  the  piano. 

She  played  with  great  execution,  but  with  too  much 
force.  The  instrument  trembled  beneath  her  hands,  and 
I  longed  for  the  haide  to  soften  the  loud  passages:  between 
four  walls  they  reverberated  through  one's  head.  But, 
notwithstanding,  I  was  heartily  grateful  for  the  music — it 
drew  the  attention  of  the  company  from  me;  and  after  a 
little  time,  during  which  I  sat  motionless,  buried  in  the 
arm-chair  as  in  a  sheltering  haven,  I  ventured  to  lift  my 
eyes. 

The  old  bookkeeper  was  the  first  person  I  saw;  he  was 
sitting  in  the  window,  half-concealed  by  a  curtain.  Char- 
lotte was  right — "he  was  furious."  Yesterday  his  wrath 
had  reminded  me  of  a  prophet  denouncing  sin  and  the 
solemn  pathos  of  his  voice  and  bearing  had  caused  me 
fear,  but  to-day  he  seemed  only  a  very  angry  man  who 
restrained  his  passion  with  difficulty.  His  left  hand, 
sparkling  with  jewels,  lay  clinched  upon  the  window-sill, 
and  his  noble  profile,  which  was  partially  turned  toward 
me,  was  disfigured  by  its  angry  expression  and  drawn-down 
mouth.  The  whole  company  seemed  to  have  incurred  his 
displeasure,  for  he  sat  with  his  back  turned  toward  them. 
Young  Helldorf,  the  object  of  his  dislike,  stood  leaning 
against  the  door  I  had  entered  by.  He  was  perhaps  the 
most  attentive  and  gratified  auditor  in  the  room.  He 
never  once  moved,  and  his  eyes  remained  riveted  on  the 
player,  as  though  under  a  spell.  Herr  Claudius  seemed  of 
quite  a  different  opinion,  and  at  every  "crescendo"  knit 
his  brows  and  shook  his  head  disapprovingly.  So  then 
here  too  he  was  playing  the  part  of  judge — the  shopman! 

I  suddenly  felt  a  gentle  movement  of  my  chair,  and 
looking  round  saw  Dagobert  behind  me.  He  was  leaning 
familiarly  on  the  back,  and  as  I  looked  up  startled  bent 


THE  PRINCESS  OP  THE  MOOR.  147 

down  toward  me,  looking  into  my  eyes,  and  whispered  low, 
•while  the  piano  prevented  any  one  else  hearing  him: 

"Are  you  going  to  the  princess  to-day?" 

I  bent  my  head. 

"Then  think  of  me  a  little,  I  implore  you,  in  the  para- 
dise you  are  entering." 

A  kind  of  giddiness  came  over  me.  This  whispered 
entreaty  which  sounded  so  soft  and  fervent  produced  an 
indescribable  effect  upon  me.  I  to  bestow  a  favor  on  him, 
who  had  ridiculed  and  laughed  at  me  in  the  haide — this 
Tancred  whose  beauty  and  military  attire  made  him  look 
like  a  king  among  the  merchants  around!  The  blood 
rushed  up  to  my  temples  and  I  hung  down  my  head  with- 
out answering.  I  was  proud  and  delighted,  but  I  must 
not  let  the  others  see  it. 

When  the  music  ended  and  the  usual  compliments  and 
thanks  had  been  paid  the  guests  began  to  disperse. 
Helldorf  among  the  rest  took  up  his  hat,  but  Herr 
Claudius  gave  him  a  sign,  and  I  heard  him  say  to  the 
young  man  in  a  low  voice: 

"Stay  a  little  longer.  I  should  like  to  hear  you  sing. 
I  have  heard  a  great  deal  of  your  baritone." 

Amid  the  general  leave-taking  I  slipped  into  the  next 
room  in  hope  of  finding  a  way  out  into  the  corridor.  My 
unexpected  entrance  and  my  position  altogether  were  so 
ridiculous  that  I  feared  Charlotte's  ridicule  when  we  were 
left  alone,  and  preferred  trying  to  escape  her  presence  for 
to-day. 

The  room  in  which  I  found  myself  opened  into  a  large 
saloon,  where  the  company  had  dined,  and  an  ope.n  door 
led  from  it  to  the  corridor.  I  saw  old  Erdmann  still 
marching  up  and  down  the  latter,  like  a  sentinel  on  duty. 
The  table  in  the  center  and  the  sideboard  both  groaned 
beneath  the  wealth  of  silver  which  they  presented  to  view. 
I  glanced  carelessly  at  it  and  then  at  one  of  the  walls, 
where  my  attention  was  suddenly  riveted. 

There  was  the  splendid  officer,  as  Charlotte  had  called 
him,  gazing  down  at  me  from  that  heavy  carved  frame! 
A  proud,  handsome  face  with  a  smile  full  of  life  and  con- 
scious victory  on  the  full  lips!  And  that  white  hand 
which  looked  so  powerful  and  yet  lay  with  such  careless 
grace  on  the  table — that  very  hand  had  raised  the  deadly 
weapon  and  with  a  single  pressure  destroyed  the  clear, 


148  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

radiant  brow  forever!  Had  he  done  the  dreadful  deed  in 
the  Carol! oenlust?  Had  my  feet  ever  rested  on  the  spot 
where  that  head  lay  dashed  to  pieces?  How  many  a  time 
had  Heinz  told  me  that  those  guilty  of  suicide  "were  con- 
demned to  wander  up  and  down  at  night  and  find  no  rest." 
If  at  midnight  he  really  did  glide  through  the  sealed 
rooms  above;  if  he  came  down  the  dark,  narrow  stair  and 
moved  the  trunk  near  my  bed  noiselessly  aside.  I  almost 
screamed  aloud  with  terror  at  the  thought,  but  I  turned 
resolutely  away  from  those  brilliant  life-like  eyes  gazing 
at  me  out  of  the  picture  and  saw  Herr  Claudius  come  into 
the  room,  looking  around  as  if  in  search  of  something. 
Forgetting  entirely  all  timidity  or  even  caution,  I  pointed 
to  the  face  which  had  aroused  my  fears. 

"Did  that  awful  misfortune  take  place  in  the  Carolinen- 
lust?"  broke  from  my  lips. 

He  recoiled,  the  red  blood  rushed  over  his  face,  and  his 
eyes  flashed  fire. 

"Child,  do  you  know  of  what  you  are  speaking?"  he 
said  gloomily.  "I  must  request  these  untamed  tongues  to 
take  a  little  better  care  of  themselves."  He  was  silent 
for  a  moment  and  fixed  his  gaze  on  his  brother's  face. 
"No,"  he  then  said  in  a  milder  tone,  "it  did  not  happen 
at  the  Carolinenlust.  Does  the  idea  make  you  feel  nerv- 
ous?" 

"I — I  am  afraid  of  ghosts,  and  so  is  Heinz,  and  so  is 
Use,  only  she  would  not  say  so." 

A  grave  smile  played  about  his  mouth. 

"I  too  sometimes  see  ghosts,  and  just  at  this  moment 
more  than  ever,"  he  said,  and  I  could  not  tell  whether  he 
spoke  in  jest  or  earnest.  "You  are  going  to  court  to-day?" 

I  could  not  help  laughing  inwardly;  he  put  the  very 
same  question  as  Dagobert. 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "and  I  must  make  haste,  for  we  are 
to  be  at  the  castle  at  six  o'clock.*' 

I  was  about  to  fly  off  rapidly,  but  he  detained  me  with 
a  gentle  grasp. 

"Reflect,  then,  upon  yourself,  that  you  may  not  lose 
yourself  in  the  court  atmosphere,"  he  said  warningly  and 
with  a  peculiar  intonation  as  he  raised  his  forefinger. 

It  was  strange,  but  for  the  first  time  certainly  that  voice 
went  to  my  heart.  Ah !  that  was  the  advice  of  the  man 
who  never  thought  but  of  himself.  How  differently  had 
Dagobert  spoken  1 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  14$ 

I  shook  my  head,  rushed  out,  and  dashed  upstairs. 
How  fortunate  was  it  that  Use  had  not  seen  that  rebel- 
lious shake  of  my  head.'  What  a  moral  sermon  it  would 
have  brought  upon  me! 


XIX. 

I  FOUND  the  maid  still  waiting  in  my  room.  She  took 
possession  of  me  at  once,  fastened  on  the  bow  which  was 
wanting,  and  set  a  little  white  hat  on  my  head. 

I  gave  one  look  at  the  glass  and  discovered  suddenly 
that  my  despised  hair,  which  I  had  always  regarded  as  a 
wearisome  burden,  fell  in  pretty  glossy  black  ringlets  over 
my  neck  and  contrasted  beautifully  with  the  snow-white 
ribbons  of  my  hat.  Use's  sharp  eyes  caught  me  in  the  act  of 
this  my  first  self-inspection,  and  her  stern,  weather-beaten 
face  appeared  suddenly  in  the  mirror  above  my  head  with 
an  expression  of  great  displeasure. 

"Well,  is  the  fool  of  fashion  ready  now?"  said  she  re- 
provingly. "Never  yet  did  any  really  modest  woman  stare 
at  herself  to  see  if  her  nose  is  set  right  on  her  face.  Do 
you  know  that  it's  a  sin?  Ah!  if  my  poor  mistress  had 
only  taken  away  the  looking-glass  from  Christine  in  time 
she  would  never  have  gone  through  all  she  did.  I'll  cover 
the  glass  before  I  go  away,  that  it  may  be  different  with 
you." 

She  would  have  no  need  for  that.  I  could  not  indeed 
see  the  sin  of  the  action,  for  had  not  the  good  God  given 
me  my  face?  But  I  did  see  what  an  absurdity  it  was  to 
gaze  at  one's  self,  and  I  grew  scarlet  at  the  thought  and 
felt  as  much  ashamed  as  if  I  had  committed  some  egre- 
gious blunder. 

The  housemaid  went  away  with  a  half-laughing,  half- 
commiserating  glance  at  me,  and  I  ran  up  to  the  library 
to  fetch  my  father. 

As  I  reached  the  door  I  heard  him  walking  up  and  down 
hurriedly  and  talking  aloud.  I  supposed  somebody  was 
with  him  and  opened  the  door  softly,  but  he  was  alone 
and  evidently  in  a  state  of  great  excitement.  He  strode 
the  apartment  incessantly,  running  both  hands  through 
his  hair  meanwhile.  Occasionally  he  stopped,  took  up 


150  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

the  medal  which  he  had  shown  Use  to-day,  gazed  at  it  as 
though  his  eyes  would  pierce  the  lifeless  medal,  and  laid 
it  down  again  with  a  heavy  sigh.  Then  he  would  strike 
the  table  with  his  thin  hand  till  it  shook  beneath  it  and 
begin  his  roaming  walk  again.  Although  I  had  been 
several  minutes  in  the  room,  he  had  never  observed  me. 

"Father,  what  is  the  matter?"  I  asked  at  last  timidly. 

He  turned  round  and  for  a  moment  did  not  recognize 
me  in  my  new  dress.  I  laughed  and  ran  toward  him. 
His  depressed,  agitated  face  brightened  with  a  kind  smile, 
which  irradiated  it  like  a  sunbeam  and  filled  me  with  de- 
light. 

"Ah,  Lorchen!"  he  exclaimed,  "what  a  pretty  little 
maiden  you  are!" 

He  took  my  two  hands  and  looked  at  me  from  head  to 
foot.  My  heart  bounded  with  inexpressible  pleasure  and 
gratitude  to  him.  In  the  midst  of  all  his  scientific  cares 
and  troubles  he  had  still  a  thought  left  to  bestow  on  my 
little  self. 

"Are  we  not  soon  going,  father?"  I  asked,  and  gather- 
ing up  all  my  courage  I  smoothed  his  ruffled  hair  and 
arranged  his  satin  cravat,  which  presented  a  very  dis- 
heveled appearance.  "The  princess  expects  us  perhaps. 
Oh,  how  frightened  I  feel  at  the  thought!" 

"I  am  waiting  for  a  gentleman  whom  I  am  to  bring  to 
the  duke,"  he  answered  shortly,  without  noticing  the  last 
part  of  my  speech.  The  cheerful  manner  had  altogether 
disappeared  again,  and  withdrawing  from  my  arranging 
hands  he  resumed  his  walk.  In  the  space  of  two  minutes 
his  hair  was  once  more  standing  upright  to  my  great  dis- 
may. 

"Won't  you  tell  me  what  is  grieving  you  so?"  I  asked 
imploringly. 

He  paced  toward  me,  with  his  hands  folded  behind 
him. 

"Oh,  my  child,  I  can't  tell  you  that.  I  don't  even 
know  how  to  begin  so  as  you  could  understand.  What  a 
herculean  task  I  had  with  Use  already  to-day!"  he  ex- 
claimed almost  impatiently  and  strode  away  again. 

I  did  not  allow  myself,  however,  to  be  thus  daunted 
without  another  effort. 


from 


It's  quite  true  that  I  am   dreadfully  stupid,  coming 
n  the  haide,"  I  answered  candidly,  "but  for  all  that 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  \$\ 

perhaps  I  could  understand  you  better  than  you  think. 
Try  me  just  this  once." 

He  smiled  half-bitterly  and  unwillingly,  but  took  the 
medal  up  and  held  it  toward  me. 

"Well,  look  here.  This  is  a  great  rarity.  It  is  called 
a  medallion.  It  is  not  in  my  collection,  for  up  to  the 
present  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  it."  He  held  it  up  to 
the  light  with  a  beaming  face.  "Splendid!  The  gentle- 
man whom  I  am  waiting  for  is  going  to  sell  this  invaluable 
specimen.  Do  you  understand  me,  my  child?" 

"Not  all  the  expressions  you  use,  father,  but  I  know 
quite  well  what  you  mean.  You  would  like  not  to  let  the 
medal  out  of  your  own  hands." 

"Child,  I  would  give  years  of  my  life  joyfully  to  be  able 
to, buy  it,"  he  interrupted  enthusiastically,  "but,  alas!  I 
cannot,  and  within  an  hour's  time  the  duke  will  have 
secured  this  exquisite  specimen  for  his  medallion  cabinet, 
and  I " 

He  stopped,  for  the  gentleman  who  had  been  in  the 
library  with  him  the  previous  day  entered  the  room,  carry- 
ing a  box  under  his  arm.  I  saw  my  father  turn  pale. 

"Well,  what  have  you  to  say,  Herr  von  Sassen?"  in- 
quired the  stranger. 

"I — must  renounce " 

"Father,"  I  exclaimed  eagerly,  "I  will  get  you  what 
you  want." 

"You,  my  little  maiden!  How  would  you  set  about 
it?" 

"Leave  that  to  me.  But  I  must  have  the  medal  to 
show  in  case  I  need  it." 

Oh,  how  resolute  and  practical  I  had  suddenly  become! 
I  was  quite  proud  of  myself  and  wished  Use  could  see  me! 

My  father  smiled  incredulously,  but  it  was  a  ray  of  hope 
and  he  accepted  it  at  such  a  moment.  He  looked  inquir- 
ingly at  the  stranger,  who  bent  his  head  in  assent,  wrapped 
the  medallion  up  in  paper,  and  delivered  it  into  my  keep- 
ing. I  put  it  in  my  pocket  and  held  it  there  with  a  con- 
vulsive grasp,  for  I  knew  how  precious  it  was,  while  I  ran 
toward  the  front  house. 

How  I  would  implore  Herr  Claudius  to  give  me 
3,000  thalers!  In  what  moving  words  would  I  depict 
my  father's  distress  to  him!  If  he  was  not  made  of  stone 
through  and  through  he  must  be  touched  by  the  child's 


152  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

entreaty  for  her  father,  whom  she  would  so  dearly  love  to 
see  happy!  Never,  indeed,  had  such  an  indescribable 
feeling  of  shyness  toward  him  overpowered  me  as  at  the 
moment  when,  inwardly  trembling,  I  reentered  the  cool, 
dark  house  as  a  petitioner  which  I  had  only  just  quitted 
in  undisguised  and  impertinent  rebellion.  But  onward ! 
It  must  be  done!  I  loved  my  father  far  too  well  not  to 
be  willing  to  sacrifice  something  for  his  sake  and  to  per- 
severe patiently  in  my  entreaties  notwithstanding  the  cold 
business-like  manner  which  Herr  Claudius  would  be 
sure  to  assume  toward  me.  Ah,  had  he  not  given  me 
400  thalers  for  my  aunt,  and  why  should  he  refuse 
me  the  3,000  now?  I  should  only  be  obliged  to 
sign  my  name  a  second  time,  and  the  matter  would  be 
accomplished ! 

Erdmann  and  the  housemaid  were  just  carrying  down  a 
trayful  of  the  dishes  as  I  ran  upstairs.  The  dining-room 
door  was  still  standing  wide  open.  If  Herr  Claudius 
happened  to  be  still  in  Charlotte's  room  he  might  possibly 
see  me  through  the  open  door  without  others  observing 
me,  for  I  was  anxious  there  should  be  no  witness  to  my 
petitioning. 

Just  as  I  was  about  to  enter  the  room  two  glorious 
voices  broke  upon  my  ear.  I  stood  as  if  rooted  to  the  spot, 
although  the  very  ground  beneath  my  feet  seemed  on  fire 
and  every  lost  moment  made  my  heart  beat  with  anxiety. 

"  Oh,  wert  thou  in  the  cauld  blast 

On  yonder  lea, 
My  plaidie  to  the  angry  airt, 
I'd  shelter  thee  1 " 

Charlotte  and  Helldorf  were  singing  it,  and  across  the 
room  I  could  see  their  two  splendid  figures  standing  near 
each  other,  while  Dagobert  sat  at  the  piano  accompanying 
them. 

Oh,  my  haide,  when  the  "angry  airt"  blew  over  thee; 
when  it  passed  over  the  Dierkhof  trying  to  bear  down  the 
old  pillars  and  tear  away  the  window-frames;  when  it 
raged  through  the  oak  trees  and  tore  in  pieces  the  vener- 
able crown  of  the  last  year's  withered  leaves;  when  Use 
with  careful  foresight  shut  every  door  and  chased  the  hens 
from  their  large  exposed  yard  to  their  roosting-place  in 
the  barn,  then  I  used  to  escape  from  the  prison  and  cry 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  153 

aloud  to  the  spirits  of  the  air.  This  was  no  storm  like 
those  of  winter.  It  was  only  the  wakening  up  and  jubi- 
lant rejoicing  of  the  thousand  voices  which  had  been 
asleep.  The  water  which  had  escaped  from  the  grasp  of 
the  ice;  the  Avood  where  a  thousand  sources  of  life  were 
swelling;  every  little  flower-bell  bursting  from  its  guard- 
ian sheath — all,  all  swelled  the  tumult,  and  I  allowed  it 
to  carry  me  along  with  it,  step  by  step  like  a  leaf  before 
the  wind,  until  I  stood  upon  the  hill  and,  half-terrified, 
half-triumphant,  clasped  my  arms  around  the  good  old 
pine.  We  quaked  and  shook  together,  the  dear  old  tree 
and  I,  but  it  rustled  its  needles  merrily,  and  I  laughed  as 
I  watched  the  thick  black  clouds  sail  onward.  My  dress 
was  torn  and  rumpled,  my  hair  flew  wildly  in  my  face,  but 
I  needed  "no  plaidie  to  shelter  me."  There  was  some- 
thing of  steel  and  iron  in  my  strong  young  hands  and  feet. 
I  struggled  bravely  and  ordered  and  scolded  Spitz  home; 
he  had  meantime  been  warming  his  coat  at  the  fire. 

"  And  should  misfortune's  bitter  blast 
Around  thee  blow." 

So  sang  the  voices  within,  and  they  floated  upward  as 
the  storm  breaks  and  culminates  in  power.  I  was  intoxi- 
cated with  the  sound,  yet  I  dare  not  yield  to  the  fascina- 
tion any  longer — away  this  home-sickness,  with  its  bitter- 
sweet remembrances.  I  saw  my  father  pacing  the  library 
excitedly,  and  that  impelled  me  forward  to  the  threshold. 

There  sat  Herr  Claudius,  buried  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  quite  alone.  He  was  leaning  his  elbows  on  the  arms 
of  the  chair  and  his  eyes  and  forehead  were  concealed  by 
his  hand.  His  thick  curly  hair  fell  over  his  white  fingers. 
I  started  back.  Even  the  dead  silvery  shine  of  his  hair 
had  an  intimidating  and  chilling  effect  upon  me,  and  I 
could  not  recall  one  word  of  the  touching,  heroic  speech 
I  had  composed.  In  his  presence  I  was  only  conscious 
that  he  would  reject  my  request  very  politely  and  kindly, 
yet  at  the  same  time  so  decidedly  that  to  add  another  word 
would  seem  to  be  importunate;  and  though  he  was  sitting 
there  to  all  appearances  lost  in  the  touching  song,  he  was 
in  reality  occupied  in  reckoning,  and  I  knew  the  moment 
I  mentioned  the  "three  thousand"  he  would  smile  and 
repeat  once  more:  "You  have  evidently  no  idea  how  large 
a  sum  of  money  that  is." 


154  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  stand- 
ing beside  him.  How  I  had  got  over  the  intervening  steps 
I  scarcely  knew  myself.  I  bent  toward  him  and  softly 
pronounced  his  name.  I  had  not  intended  to  startle  him 
thus,  but  he  bounded  up  as  if  the  last  trumpet  had  sounded 
in  his  ear;  he  looked  round  and  smiled;  1  knew  why. 
How  could  any  one  be  startled  by  such  a  morsel  of  humanity 
who  had  hopped  up  noiselessly  like  a  little  wren  beside 
him? 

He  was  not  angry,  I  could  see  that;  and  yet  not  a  word 
could  I  utter.  If  he  had  only  had  on  the  spectacles  and 
the  broad-brimmed  hat;  but  here  he  looked  so  young  all 
at  once  with  his  magnificent  blue  eyes.  I  felt  myself  so 
silly,  and  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  help  me  out  of  my 
difficulty.  He  remained  silent  while  they  sang  on: 

"  Thy  shield  should  be  my  bosom 
To  share  it  a' " 

"Do  you  wish  to  speak  to  me?"  he  inquired  at  last  as 
the  singing  ended. 

"Yes,  Herr  Claudius,  but  not  here." 

He  took  me  at  once  to  the  other  room  and  closed  both 
doors. 

With  my  eyes  fixed  on  one  of  the  squares  in  the  polished 
mosaic  floor  I  began  my  story  and  succeeded.  I  recovered 
the  thoughts  and  words  I  had  before  prepared.  I  pictured 
to  him  my  father's  interse  anxiety  to  possess  the  medal; 
that  he  could  neither  eat  nor  drink  with  excitement;  that 
I  was  unable  to  bear  the  sight  of  his  suffering  and  must 
find  out  the  means  somewhere  to  get  the  3,000  thalers 
at  any  price.  Then  I  looked  up  at  him. 

He  looked  exactly  as  if  he  was  standing  in  the  counting- 
house  below,  near  his  great  folios — the  picture  of  an  atten- 
tive listener,  of  the  coolest  deliberation  and  caution. 

"la  that  your  own  idea,  or  did  Herr  von  Sassen  pre- 
viously express  a  wish  to  take  this  sum  from  your  capital?" 
he  inquired — and  how  coldly  the  tone  fell  on  my  ear  in 
answer  to  my  eager  eloquence;  how  it  annoyed  me!  Still, 
I  could  not  lie  to  those  clear  eyes  nor  yet  find  any  means 
of  hiding  the  truth,  much  as  I  felt  tempted  to  it  for  a 
moment. 

"My  father  expressed  the  wish  to  Use  this  afternoon," 
I  replied,  hesitating. 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  155 

"And  she  refused?" 

I  assented  sorrowfully.  I  knew  the  cause  was  already 
lost. 

"Do  you  not  know  yourself,  then,  Fraulein  von  Sassen, 
that  I  could  still  less  dare  or  be  willing  to  give  it  to  you?" 

Forgotten  was  the  resolution  to  observe  an  humble  de- 
meanor and  keep  my  patience  in  the  face  of  this  mercan- 
tile calculation  and  calm.  I  felt  my  cheeks  growing  red 
and  "my  wicked  heart  getting  the  better  of  me." 

"No  doubt  I  knew  it,"  I  answered  hastily,  pointing  to 
the  doorway.  "There  I  stood  trembling  with  horror. 
But  I  love  my  father  and  was  willing  to  make  such  a 
heavy  sacrifice  for  him." 

He  never  uttered  a  word  as  I  paused  a  moment — he 
really  was  made  of  stone;  all  my  representations  had 
actually  gone  for  nothing,  and  he  wasn't  even  angry.  I 
could  scarcely  keep  my  feet  from  stamping  on  the  floor,  so 
I  turned  my  back  on  him  in  a  rage  and  said,  looking  back 
over  my  shoulder: 

"I  won't  have  the  money  now.  Eidiculous  that  I 
should  have  to  come  and  beg  from  strangers  what  my  dear 
grandmother  left  me  as  a  present;  but  if  it  was  mine  ten 
times  over  and  I  had  the  right  to  dispose  of  it " 

"At  this  present  moment  you  haven't  a  right  to  dispose 
of  one  penny  of  it,"  he  said,  without  the  least  annoyance, 
but  very  gravely  and  impressively.  "And  this  much  I 
must  tell  you,  that  when  you  come  to  me  in  that  unbe- 
coming manner,  as  the  wild  haide  child,  you  will  never 
get  anything  from  me.  You  may  climb  trees  and  wade 
through  rivers  to  your  heart's  content — those  wings  shall 
not  be  clipped ;  but  the  savage  nature  must  be  driven  from 
your  soul." 

And  so  he  was  going  to  fetter  me  with  those  iron  fingers 
and  never  let  me  loose  again  till  the  two  years  were  at  an 
end!  What  a  wretched  caricature  he  would  make  of  me. 

"If  I  allow  you,"  said  I,  throwing  back  my  head. 
"Heinz  once  caught  a  raven,  and  as  he  was  going  to  clip 
its  wings  the  bird  bit  his  finger  to  the  bone." 

"And  you  intend  to  defend  yourself  with  equal  courage, 
little  haide  lark?"  he  said,  smiling  and  glancing  down 
upon  his  slender  fingers.  "The  naughty  raven  was  not 
able  to  understand  that  Heinz  intended  to  make  him  into 
a  trusty  companion.  But  now  we  will  talk  more  about 


156  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

this  money  matter.  I  must  not  play  fast  and  loose  with 
your  fortune,  any  more  than  you  may  yourself;  but  on 
the  other  hand  I  am  quite  ready  to  advance  your  father 
the  requisite  sum  for  the  medal  from  my  own  resources. 
Did  you  say  that  the  owner  is  at  this  very  moment  with 
your  father?" 

Much  ashamed,  I  felt  in  my  pocket  for  the  medallion. 

"Oh,  an  imperial  medal  of  the  time  of  the  Antonines. 
A  fine  specimen,"  he  said. 

He  stepped  to  the  window  and  examined  it  on  every 
side  again,  as  if  he  understood  something  of  that  too. 

"Come,"  he  said,  opening  the  door  to  the  right. 

Heavy  draperies  hung  on  the  walls,  and  it  was  as  dismal 
as  the  whole  suit  in  that  range.  Xear  one  of  the  windows 
stood  a  cabinet  of  dark  carved  wood  inlaid  with  silver. 

Herr  Claudius  opened  the  wonderful  old-fashioned 
piece  of  furniture  and  took  out  a  box,  in  which  lay  a 
whole  row  of  medals  similar  to  that  my  father  had  desig- 
nated as  so  rare.  They  were  arranged  on  a  dark  velvet 
background.  He  took  out  one  and  laid  it  on  the  palm  of 
his  hand  beside  the  one  I  had  brought,  compared  them 
carefully,  and  held  them  toward  me. 

They  were  as  like  each  other  as  two  peas,  only  the  one 
taken  from  the  case  was  visibly  better  cast. 

"This  is  the  prettiest,"  I  said,  pointing  to  the  medal 
my  father  was  longing  for. 

"I  believe  you,"  he  replied.     "But  I  do  not  like  it." 

At  this  moment  the  door  leading  into  the  dining-room 
was  opened,  and  on  turning  round  we  both  saw  Dagobert 
standing  on  the  threshold.  Herr  Claudius  frowned,  but 
the  young  man  was  not  to  be  put  off  thus.  He  advanced 
nearer  and  his  brown  eyes  wandered  over  the  row  of 
medals  in  amazement. 

"Goodness,  how  magnificent!  Are  you  a  collector, 
uncle?"  he  asked  in  surprise. 

"Somewhat,  as  you  see." 

"And  no  one  knows  a  word  of  it!" 

"Is  it  necessary  that  my  little  fancies  should  bo  known 
to  the  public?" 

How  calmly  proud  that  sounded. 

"Well,  not  exactly  that,"  replied  Dagobert,  "but  at  a 
time  when  the  whole  residenz  is  engrossed  with  a  real 
fever  of  interest  in  antiquities  this  passivity  is  quite  in- 
eonceivable." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.       15? 

"Do  you  think  so?  Will,  I  confess  I  rarely  find  pleas- 
ure in  anything  which  is  ^the  fashion'  in  the  great  world 
and  which  is  used  by  many  for  quite  other  purposes  than 
the  advancement  of  science.  I  am  also  on  my  guard 
against  such  inclinations.  I  never  bring  them  into  com- 
petition. Under  such  influences  they  get  the  mastery  of 
us,  and  a  passion  thus  allowed  to  get  head  will  stop  at 
nothing;  it  will  not  spare  the  holiest  and  most  sacred,  but 
would  even  take  the  plate  from  off  the  altar  if  need  be." 

"Well,  your  presentiments  will  save  you  from  that  sin, 
uncle,"  laughed  Dagobert.  He  shook  his  head.  "In- 
credible! You  are  interested  in  antiquities,  and  yet 
allowed  a  valuable  collection  of  them  to  remain  long  years 
untouched  in  the  cellars  below." 

Herr  Claudius  shrugged  his  shoulders  slightly. 

"You  might  think  differently  were  you  to  see  my  grand- 
father's will.  In  accordance  with  his  desire  these  antiq- 
uities should  have  remained  buried  forever." 

"Ah!  So,  then,  Herr  von  Sassen  ought  to  feel  proud 
that  his  request  has  effected  the  overthrow  of  the  profound 
traditions  of  the  house." 

"Not  so  much  he  as  my  own  final  conviction  that  neither 
my  grandfather  nor  I  had  any  right  to  deprive  the  world 
of  these  art  treasures  and  to  allow  them  to  disappear  for 
evermore." 

This  answer  came  very  quietly. 

I  stood  on  pins  and  needles  during  this  conversation ; 
the  precious  time  was  passing.  To  my  comfort  Dagobert 
went  to  the  window  to  inspect  a  carriage  that  was  pass- 
ing. Herr  Claudius,  however,  put  the  medallion  back  into 
the  box  and  returned  me  the  medal. 

"I  am  sincerely  sorry  that  I  must  take  back  my 
promise,"  he  said  to  me,  "but  I  would  not  be  a  party  to 
the  purchase  of  such  a  medal  as  that.  The  medallion  you 
hold  in  your  hand  is  not  real." 

Dagobert  turned  round. 

"Who  wanted  to  buy  the  medal?"  he  inquired. 

"Herr  von  Sassen." 

"What,  uncle,  he  thinks  the  medal  valuable  and  you 
would  correct  him?  Excuse  me,  but  it  escaped  me  in- 
voluntarily; it  was  not  polite,"  he  added,  immediately 
apologizing. 

Herr  Claudius  smiled  gently. 


158  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"You  have  only  indorsed  my  own  opinion,  that  the 
novice  is  wise  in  keeping  his  wisdom  to  himself.  His 
opinion  in  comparison  with  that  of  an  authority  will 
always  be  regarded  as  presumption." 

He  closed  the  cabinet,  and  I  left  the  room  with  head 
erect.  Dagobert  accompanied  me  to  the  door. 

"Impudent,"  he  muttered  between  his  teeth,  but  so 
that  I  could  hear  him,  as  he  passed  on  to  his  sister's  room, 
while  I  ran  off  shy  and  silen1 

Yes,  it  was  impudence  toward  my  father  of  world-wide 
celebrity.  I  ran  like  one  hunted  through  the  garden  and 
tore  up  the  stairs  at  the  Caroliuenlust. 

"Well?"  asked  my  father  in  breathless  suspense  as  I 
entered  the  room. 

"Herr  Claudius  maintains  that  the  medal  is  not  real," 
I  repeated  in  a  stifled  voice. 

The  stranger  burst  into  an  uncontrollable  fit  of  laughter 
— he  seemed  indeed  as  though  he  could  not  leave  off. 
My  father,  on  the  other  hand,  shrugged  his  shoulders 
contemptuously. 

"What  else  can  you  expect  from  a  merchant  spirit? 
One  ought  not  to  meddle  with  such  people." 

He  grasped  his  hat,  stuck  it  on  his  tumbled  hair,  and 
gave  me  his  arm. 

"Let  us  go,"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  resignation. 


XX. 

WITH  rapid  steps  we  hastened  through  the  garden.  My 
father  was  soon  utterly  unconscious  that  a  nervous  little 
maiden  was  tripping  by  his  side  and  skipping  along  on 
her  tiptoes  like  a  flake  of  snow.  He  talked  to  the  strange 
gentleman  without  intermission,  and  to  my  great  annoy- 
ance in  the  same  unintelligible  language  which  the  pro- 
fessor in  the  haide  had  used. 

We  heard  Helldorf  's  glorious  voice  as  we  passed  through 
the  yard;  he  was  singing  alone.  My  father  suspended  his 
rapid  pace  for  one  moment  in  surprise.  So  far  I  had  never 
sought  to  make  further  researches  in  the  yard — it  was 
too  bare  and  empty  for  my  taste;  but  now  that  we  were 
crossing  to  go  out  by  the  great  gate  I  had  a  complete  view 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  159 

of  the  ground-floor  belonging  to  the  front  house.  Four 
windows,  running  parallel  with  one  another,  were  each 
partially  open,  and  a  perfect  flock  of  young  girls  were 
Bitting  within.  The  wainscoting  was  very  low  and 
enabled  one  to  see  the  busy  nimble  fingers  at  work.  At 
the  window  nearest  me  a  young  girl  held  up  a  myrtle 
wreath  to  try  how  it  looked  before  adding  the  next  sprig. 

And  so,  then,  that  was  the  "back  room"  about  which 
Charlotte  had  given  me  such  a  fright  the  very  day  after 
my  arrival.  It  did  not  appear  to  me  either  dark  or  for- 
bidding; there  was  plenty  of  air  and  light,  and  the  girls 
were  remarkably  clean  and  well  dressed.  All  these  young 
heads,  dark  and  fair,  were  listening  to  the  singing.  Not 
a  lip  moved,  when  all  at  once  I  saw  a  sudden  thrill  of 
terror  run  through  the  whole  party  and  every  head  bent 
low  over  their  work.  The  girl  with  the  myrtle  wreath 
pushed  the  window  to  with  her  elbow,  unobserved,  and 
turned  her  flushed  face  toward  the  inner  part  of  the  room. 
A  door  banged  violently  within,  and  immediately  after  the 
old  bookkeeper's  voice  was  heard  scolding. 

"What  a  draught!"  he  exclaimed,  his  sonorous  voice 
echoing  the  louder  through  the  yard  because  the  singing 
had  for  a  moment  ceased.  "Ah,  I  see,  the  windows  have 
been  opened  to  listen  to  the  illusive  voice  of  Satan  and 
thus  indulge  in  idleness!  Ye  foolish  virgins!  'It  is  bet- 
ter to  listen  to  the  reproof  of  the  wise  than  to  the  song  of 
fools/  " 

While  he  gave  utterance  to  this  sentence  he  banged  the 
windows  to  and  shook  them  to  make  sure  that  none  of  that 
earthly  sound  could  penetrate.  He  saw  us  passing  by,  but 
he  took  no  notice  whatever  and  retained  his  haughty  de- 
meanor. 

My  father  laughed  ironically. 

"There  is  another  regular  pope,"  he  said  to  the  stranger. 
"One  of  those  narrow-minded  individuals  which  a  strong 
reaction  of  the  times  has  produced.  The  next  generation 
will  doubtless  look  back  with  scorn  on  these  spots  on  the 
sun  of  our  day." 

How  I  pitied  the  poor  young  things  in  the  back  room! 
Their  wings  had  been  cruelly  cut,  too,  and  not  a  trace  of 
the  "savage  element"  now  remained;  on  the  contrary, 
they  were  prisoners  against  their  will.  Meekly  they  bowed 
their  heads  and  submitted  to  be  deprived  even  of  the  fresh 


160  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOK. 

air  because  forbidden  sounds  had  reached  their  ears.  And 
it  was  the  horrid  daily  singer  himself  who  had  the  task  of 
clipping  their  wings  and  watching  them.  Oh,  Hen- 
Claudius,  you  shall  find  more  trouble  at  my  hands  yet. 
I  could  have  run  away  like  a  hare,  and  if  no  sheltering 
roof  were  to  be  found  about  here,  one  fine  morning  I 
would  just  return  whence  I  had  come.  Not  indeed  to  the 
Dierkhof ,  where  Use  would  scold  me,  but  to  the  little  mud 
cabin  with  the  bottle-green  windows — there  would  I  share 
Heinz'  buckwheat  meal  and  fly  all  day  long  over  the  haide 
with  unshorn  pinions! 

We  had  left  the  house  in  the  MauBrstrasse  behind  and 
were  now  treading  the  ngly,  dnsty  streets  which  I  had 
never  wished  to  see  again;  still,  they  no  longer  seemed  so 
bad  since  the  burning  noonday  sun  was  not  shining  on 
them.  Much  else  had  changed  too.  I  no  longer  met 
glances  of  ridicule.  Women  passed  who  looked  kindly  at 
me  and  who  peeped  inquiringly  under  my  hat,  as  though 
they  really  wished  to  see  what  kind  of  face  the  tripping 
little  lassie  in  holiday  attire  had.  One  thing,  however, 
produced  a  great  and  peculiar  effect  on  me  and  caused  me 
to  hold  my  head  at  least  several  inches  higher,  and  that 
was  the  manner  in  which  my  father  was  greeted.  The 
man  himself  as  he  hastily  passed  along,  with  the  careless 
attitude  and  dreadfully  wild-looking  hair,  was  anything 
but  an  imposing  object,  and  yet  officers  and  elegantly 
dressed  gentlemen  bowed  low  before  him  with  the  deepest 
respect;  and  distinguished  ladies,  driving  in  magnificent 
carriages,  nodded  their  heads  to  him  and  smiled,  as 
though  he  were  their  most  familiar  friend.  This  profound 
respect  was  all  directed  to  this  widely  celebrated  man 
whose  head  was  the  receptacle  of  such  wondrous  stores  of 
knowledge.  Every  one  bent  before  him  with  one  excep- 
tion— the  merchant  in  the  Mauerstrasse.  He,  forsooth, 
knew  everything  better! 

In  no  genial  humor  did  I  think  upon  that  scene  before 
the  medallion  cabinet;  and  what  annoyed  me  most  was 
the  impression  I  had  myself  received  on  that  occasion. 
The  man  had  stood  there  as  if  really  endowed  with  superior 
power,  as  though  his  every  word  rested  on  as  solid  a 
foundation  as  his  own  old  business,  and — worst  of  all — the 
brilliant  young  officer,  in  all  his  elegance  and  manly 
beauty,  had  been  a  moment  completely  thrown  into  the 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  161 

shade  beside  that  man  in  the  simple  black  coat.  What  a 
metamorphosis!  That  was  the  quiet  old  gentleman" 
who  had  appeared  so  utterly  insignificant  in  my  eyes  on 
the  top  of  the  Hun  tombs — on  whom  I  had  scarcely  even 
deigned  to  look ! 

We  had  to  walk  a  considerable  distance  before  we 
reached  the  ducal  castle.  A  footman  preceded  us  to 
announce  our  arrival,  and  while  the  seller  of  the  medals 
waited  in  an  anteroom,  my  father  led  me  through  the 
saloons.  Once  again  he  ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair, 
then  pushed  me  gently  through  the  door  which  the  foot- 
man threw  open. 

The  dreaded  moment  then  had  arrived,  against  which 
the  untutored  haide  child  had  with  well-grounded  instinct 
fought  with  all  her  might.  My  debut  was  indeed  pitiable, 
Charlotte  had  shown  me  the  way  I  ought  to  bow;  but, 
alas!  Spitz  made  a  far  better  hand  of  the  little  tricks 
which  Heinz  had  taught  him.  My  "quicksilver  soles" 
felt  riveted  to  the  spot  where  my  father  had  left  me  stand- 
ing. I  saw  nothing  beneath  my  downcast  eyelids  save 
one  small  square  at  my  feet,  and  I  heard  nothing  but  the 
rustling  of  silken  garments,  saying  to  myself,  the  while 
that  rising  tears  of  vexation  rose  and  were  swallowed  down 
again,  that  I  was  like  nothing,  standing  there  so  awkward 
and  simple,  but  a  coarsely  hewn-out  statue.  Suddenly 
the  lovely  tones  of  a  soft  bell-like  voice  fell  on  my  ear — 
the  princess  was  saluting  my  father — and  a  moment  after- 
ward a  hand  touched  my  chin  and  raised  my  drooping 
head.  I  looked  up  then,  and  no  sparkling  coronet  dazzled 
my  frightened  eyes.  I  saw  wonderful  thick  brown  curls 
shading  a  face  of  rosy  hue,  and  a  pair  of  bright  eyes,  as 
blue  as  those  of  my  favorite  butterflies  in  the  haide,  smiled 
down  upon  me.  I  knew  that  the  princess  was  no  longer 
young.  She  was  the  reigning  duke's  aunt  and  a  contem- 
porary of  my  mother's.  I  thought,  consequently,  that 
this  tall  slight  figure,  with  the  velvet  complexion  and  soft 
youthful  profile,  could  not  be  the  Princess  Margarethe. 
My  father  informed  me  otherwise. 

"Your  highness  sees  now,"  he  said,  while  a  suppressed 
laugh  trembled  in  his  voice,  "how  right  I  was  in  begging 
for  unlimited  forbearance.  My  shy  daisy  hangs  her  head 
helplessly." 

"We  will  soon  alter  all  that,"  replied  the  princess,  smil- 


162  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

ing.  "I  know  how  to  deal  with  nervous,  timid  little 
maidens  such  as  she  is.  Go  now,  dear  doctor,  the  duke 
is  expecting  you.  Auf  Wiedersehen  *  at  tea." 

My  father  left  the  room,  and  I  now  stood  there  left  to 
myself  in  the  insidious  atmosphere  of  the  court  in  its 
dangerous  precincts.  I  saw  now  that  the  princess  was  not 
alone.  A  few  steps  behind  her  stood  a  pretty  young  girl; 
the  princess  presented  us  to  each  other,  and  I  learned  from 
that  that  she  was  a  maid  of  honor,  and  that  her  name  was 
Constance  von  Wildenspring.  Before  I  had  time  even  to 
think  of  it  the  young  lady's  nimble  fingers  had  dexterously 
divested  me  of  my  hat  and  mantilla  and  I  was  placed 
opposite  the  princess,  while  the  young  lady  sat  a  little 
distance  off,  behind  one  of  the  window-curtains,  working. 

How  admirably  the  princess  understood  the  art  of 
untying  the  bann  of  timidity  which  separated  the  "shy 
little  maiden"  from  her.  She  related  how  often  my 
mother  and  she  had  been  together  at  the  court  at  L'schen; 
what  a  happy,  merry  time  it  had  been;  how  much  talent 
and  information  my  mother  had  had,  and  what  very 
beautiful  verses  she  had  written.  At  the  same  time  she 
showed  me  a  thick  book,  bound  in  red  morocco — it  con- 
tained poems  and  a  drama  written  by  the  deceased  which 
had  appeared  a  short  time  before  her  death.  Most  young 
girls  in  my  position  would  have  been  pleased  to  find  such 
a  favorable  preparation  for  them  on  their  first  appearance 
at  court,  and  would  have  considered  it  as  a  piece  of  good 
fortune.  I  felt  nothing  of  the  kind.  With  a  kind  of 
painful  aversion  I  gazed  at  the  book.  The  pictures  in  it, 
then,  were  to  blame  that  my  early  childhood  had  been 
robbed  of  the  sunshine  of  a  mother's  love.  While  the 
authoress  of  them  had  been  cherishing  and  cultivating  the 
forms  of  her  fancy  in  the  light,  airy  drawing-rooms,  the 
soul  of  her  child  had  been  starved  and  famished  between 
the  four  gloomy  walls  of  that  back  chamber. 

Perhaps  some  suspicion  of  the  tenor  of  my  thoughts 
dawned  upon  the  princess — I  iiad  already  told  her  no 
effort  on  my  part  would  enable  me  to  recall  my  mother's 
face.  At  all  events,  she  insensibly  turned  the  conversa- 
tion to  my  own  past  life,  and  with  that  the  remains  of  my 
embarrassment  entirely  fled.  I  related  everything  and 

*  To  meet  again — au  revoir. 


THE  PRTNCE8S  OF  THE  MOOR.  163 

paraded  Heinz,  Use,  Mieke,  and  the  merry  chirping  mag- 
pies on  the  oak  tree  tops  through  the  princess'  apartments; 
the  old  fir  tree  too  shook  its  needles  there,  and  from  the 
turf-mold  and  bog  arose  the  water-sprites  and  floated 
about  there  in  their  white  garments,  with  heavy  moist 
borders,  through  the  deadly  still  haide.  I  brought  for- 
ward the  snow-storm,  too,  playing  around  the  Dierkhof 
roof  gables,  and  how  I  used  to  sit  near  Heinz  on  the  stove 
bench  while  the  roasting  apples  crackled  and  sputtered  in 
the  hot  oven. 

Xow  and  then  the  pretty  lady-in-waiting  stared  at  me 
in  blank  amazement  from  behind  the  curtain  and  regarded 
me  with  a  stare  of  mock  and  derisive  terror.  But  that  did 
not  affect  me.  The  princess'  large  eyes  grew  brighter  and 
brighter  and  rested  on  me  with  ever-increased  depth. 
She  listened  just  as  attentively,  I  might  almost  say  breath- 
lessly, as  Heinz  and  Use  used  to  do  when  I  used  to  read 
aloud  the  fairy-tales  in  the  fleet. 

And  I  told  her  of  the  lizards,  of  the  bees,  and  of  the 
ants — they  had  been  my  companions,  and  I  was  as  well 
acquainted  with  all  their  arrangements,  all  their  habits 
and  occupations  as  I  was  with  the  household  management 
of  the  Dierkhof.  I  confessed  that  all  animals,  even  the 
ugliest  and  most  insignificant,  were  dear  to  me,  because 
there  was  vitality  in  them,  and  the  faint  sounds  their 
voices  and  motions  made  broke  through  the  deep  solitude 
of  the  haide.  I  don't  know  how  it  came  about,  but  finally 
even  the  great  Hun  grave  came  in  for  a  representation, 
and  there  I  sat  on  its  summit,  amid  the  golden  broom, 
with  outstretched  arms,  and  sang  out  into  the  intermi- 
nable waste. 

The  princess  drew  me  suddenly  to  her,  took  both  my 
hands,  and  kissed  me  on  the  forehead. 

"I  should  like  to  know  how  the  solitary  young  voice 
sounded  in  the  haide,"  she  said. 

I  shrank  back  indeed  with  timidity  and  horror  at  the 
thought  of  my  own  voice  reverberating  against  those  four 
walls;  but  a  kind  of  spell  was  upon  me.  Had  I  already 
become  mistress  of  myself,  and  was  one  part  of  my  child's 
life  played  out?  I  gathered  up  all  my  courage  and  sang  a 
little  song. 

Once,  just  in  the  midst  of  my  singing,  I  was  put  out — 
the  gray  eyes  of  the  young  court  lady  glowed  and  varied 


164  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

so  strangely  from  behind  the  curtain.  Involuntarily  1 
thought  of  the  cat  at  the  Dierkhof  as  she  watched  the 
poor  little  twittering  bird  on  the  mountain-ash  bough 
with  her  glittering  green  eyes.  But  what  was  the  little 
lady's  displeasure  to  me?  I  was  not  singing  for  her,  and 
my  voice  should  not  tremble  on  her  account.  I  let  it  out, 
therefore,  with  all  its  power  and  sang  courageously  to  the 
end. 

While  I  had  been  making  these  communications  two 
footmen  had  noiselessly  brought  in  a  ready-laid  table, 
covered  with  everything  for  tea,  and  just  as  my  last  tones 
died  away  a  gentleman  in  a  black  frock  coat  entered  the 
room.  He  bowed  low,  then  raising  himself  rapidly,  he 
clapped  his  delicate  kid  gloves  together  in  applause  with 
undeniable  grace. 

"Wonderful,  your  highness!  on  my  word,  magnifique !" 
he  exclaimed  in  raptures  as  he  eagerly  but  at  the  same 
time  with  noiseless  footsteps  approached  the  princess. 
"But  what  cruelty  to  us  all,  your  highness,"  he  continued 
in  reproachful  tones;  and  letting  his  graceful  arms  droop 
in  an  attitude  of  dejection,  this  thoroughly  elderly  per- 
sonage absolutely  assumed  the  air  and  manners  of  a  young 
girl.  "For  years  we  have  been  entreating,  on  bended 
knee,  for  but  one  tone  from  that  throat  which  is  veritably 
a  nightingale's — and  in  vain!  Like  a  thief,  like  some 
unfortunate  condemned  to  banishment  must  one  linger 
outside  the  threshold  if  once  again  one  would  taste  the 
long-denied  delight.  What,  do  you  call  that  an  injured, 
ruined  voice?  That  softness,  that  bell-like  fullness  of 
tone?  Oh,  your  highness!" 

He  cast  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  kissed  every  finger 
of  her  hand.  I  was  quite  confounded.  This  kind  of  man 
was  quite  as  new  to  me  as  an  inhabitant  of  Otaheite  would 
have  been.  His  rather  deep  voice  and  carefully  trimmed 
beard  recalled  my  senses,  else  I  should  certainly  have 
vowed  he  was  one  of  the  court  ladies  dressed  in  a  coat. 

"My  good  Herr  von  Wismar,"  said  the  princess  with  a 
suppressed  laugh,  "in  former  days  I  must  plead  guilty  to 
having  oftentimes  wearied  those  around  me  with  indulging 
in  melodies  sung  in  a  voice  which  was  even  at  that  time 
very  weak  and  very  indifferent,  but  you  ought  not  to 
remind  me  of  that,  more  especially  as  I  atoned  for  It  by 
leaving  off  in  good  time.  However,  I  observe  with  the 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.        165 

greatest  satisfaction  that  my  musical  misdemeanors  are  all 
happily  forgotten  when  our  noble  chamberlain  has  seen  fit 
to  exalt  my  contralto  to  a  bell-like  soprano,  the  poor  little 
linnet  to  a  nightingale.  Sidonie  sang  beautifully — but  I, 
never." 

The  "noble  chamberlain"  stood  there  somewhat  dis- 
concerted. His  long  face  was  too  amusing.  I  tittered 
inwardly,  just  as  I  had  always  done  when  Heinz  had  been 
paralyzed  by  some  unexpected  turn  of  things. 

Friiulein  von  Wildenspring  had  risen  suddenly  at  the 
princess'  last  words.  She  gave  a  furious  glance  at  my 
merry  face  and  placed  herself  at  the  tea-table. 

"But,  your  highness,  the  comparison  is  a  very  true  one," 
she  whispered  forth  as  she  busied  herself  with  the  tea-pot. 
"Although  Herr  von  Wismar  makes  a  mistake  with  re- 
gard to  the  kind  of  voice,  still  your  highness  did  sing 
beautifully.  Griifin  Fernau  still  becomes  quite  excited 
when  she  speaks  of  it." 

"Oh,  my  dear  Constance,  is  that  your  only  authority?" 
laughed  the  princess.  "Our  good  Fernau  has  been  stone 
deaf  for  the  last  twenty-five  years!" 

"But  papa  and  mamma  are  enthusiastic  about  it  too," 
persevered  the  young  lady,  who  nevertheless  let  her  eyes 
droop  beneath  the  sarcastic  glance  of  her  patroness. 

"Pray  turn  your  eyes  and  your  compliments  toward 
your  right,  Herr  von  Wismar,"  said  the  princess,  pointing 
with  her  hand  in  my  direction.  "There  is  the  nightin- 
gale." 

The  gentleman  turned  round ;  till  that  moment  he  had 
not  observed  me,  because  my  small  person  was  concealed 
by  a  stand  of  gigantic  plants.  The  princess  mentioned 
my  name.  I  rose  at  the  low  reverence  which  the  gentle- 
man made  me,  laughed  in  his  very  face,  and  made  him 
such  a  deep  and  successful  courtesy  that  Charlotte  would 
have  died  of  laughing  had  she  seen  it.  The  demon  of 
mischief  which,  since  my  grandmother's  death,  seemed 
to  have  gone  to  sleep,  woke  up  all  at  once  and  restored 
the  power  of  movement  to  me  once  more. 

Herr  von  Wismar  at  once  launched  forth  into  a  strain 
of  compliments,  which  compared  my  father's  simple 
daisy  to  a  bright  rose-bud  and  raised  me  to  the  position  of 
a  fairy  vision.  He  gently  chided  "the  good  doctor"  for 
having  hitherto  deprived  the  court  of  my  enchanting 
presence  and  for  having  left  me  too  long  at  school. 


166  THE  PRINCESS  Of  THE  MOOR. 

"What  school  were  you  brought  up  at,  may  I  ask?"  he 
inquired  finally. 

"In  a  country  village,  Herr  von  Wismar,"  said  Friiu- 
lein  von  Wildenspring  with  the  innocent  smile  of  a  child. 

The  chamberlain  was  stunned;  but  a  glance  at  the 
princess'  face  looking  so  kindly  at  me  speedily  restored 
his  equanimity. 

"Oh,  thence  comes  the  delicious  spring-like  freshness 
of  her  voice.  The  country  air,  yes,  the  country  air! 
What  an  acquisition  it  would  be  at  our  court  concerts, 
your  highness — so  chaste,  so  perfectly  untouched — 

"What  an  idea,  Herr  von  Wismar,"  interrupted  the 
young  maid  of  honor.  "Friiulein  von  Sassen  cannot  pos- 
sibly bear  a  comparison  with  our  superb  prima  donna  from 
the  court  theater — no,  I  should  really  feel  sorry  for  her  in 
such  a  position." 

"Look  after  your  tea,  Constance,"  said  the  princess. 
"I  fear  it  will  get  bitter.  Besides,  you  may  be  quite  at 
ease.  I  shall  certainly  not  accept  the  proposition.  Rare 
guests  should  be  guarded  like  trie  apple  of  the  eye,  and 
this  refreshing  breeze  from  the  haide  which  has  suddenly 
burst  into  our  sultry  atmosphere  from  the  distant  'country 
village*  shall  be  kept  for  myself  alone." 

Fraulein  von  Wildenspring  was  silent.  She  seized  the 
tea-pot  and  poured  out  the  first  brown  and  undrinkable 
infusion  into  the  silver  slop-bowl  so  suddenly  and  violently 
that  the  damask  cloth  was  all  sprinkled  over  with  the 
brown  drops. 

"And  you  are  living  now  with  your  papa  in  Claudius' 
house?"  inquired  Herr  von  Wismar  suddenly  as  he  caught 
the  haughty  and  reproving  glance  with  which  the  princess 
measured  her  awkward  lady-in-waiting.  The  chamberlain 
seemed  to  act  as  a  kind  of  lightning  conductor  at  court. 

"We  live  in  the  Carolinenlust,"  I  replied. 

"Ah,  in  poor  Lothar's  rooms,"  he  remarked  in  a  tone  of 
regret  to  the  princess. 

"Oh,  dear,  no,"  I  replied  eagerly,  "not  in  them — they 
are  sealed." 

I  remarked  a  faint  color  rise  on  the  princess'  cheek  and 
spread  up  to  the  roots  of  her  curly  hair.  She  had  caught 
hold  of  one  of  the  overhanging  blossoms  of  a  Hortensia 
with  both  her  hands  as  it  stood  on  a  table  near  her,  and 
buried  her  face  in  it,  apparently  inhaling  its  perfume. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  167 

"Still  sealed,  and  for  what  reason?"  she  inquired  after 
a  momentary  pause  on  the  part  of  the  chamberlain.  "Is 
not  his  brother  sole  heir?" 

Herr  von  Wismar  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  assured 
her  he  knew  nothing  more  about  the  matter.  Those  were 
things  of  the  past,  and  the  name  of  Claudius  had  never 
since  been  mentioned  at  court  till  the  late  discovery  of 
antiquities  by  Herr  von  Sassen  in  the  merchant's  house 
had  brought  it  up  again  here  and  there. 

"The  seals  are  to  remain  on  the  doors  to  all  eternity," 
I  said  softly.  I  remembered  my  discoveries  well  and  what 
I  had  heard,  and  I  felt  ashamed  of  myself;  still,  for  all 
that  I  did  not  intend  the  princess  to  remain  without  any 
information  on  the  subject.  "The  deceased  wished  it  so, 
and  Herr  Claudius  therefore  never  allows  one  of  the  seals 
to  be  touched.  He  is  strict,  oh,  terribly  strict." 

"Aha!  That  sounds  almost  as  if  you  were  yourself 
afraid  of  him,  my  little  lady." 

"I  afraid  of  him?  No,  no,  not  I,"  I  protested  angrily. 
"I  am  not  afraid  now,  not  in  the  very  least;  but  I  cannot 
bear  him,"  came  out  involuntarily.  "Oh,  that  man  cares 
for  nobody,  nobody  in  the  whole  world ;  that  is  an  under- 
stood thing,"  I  said  briskly.  "There  are  only  two  things 
he  cares  about — work,  Charlotte  says,  and  his  great 
account-book.  Flowers,  an  inexhaustible  wealth  of 
flowers  are  his;  he  could  bury  himself  and  his  ugly  house 
in  the  Mauerstrasse  in  them;  but  in  the  room  he  works  in, 
where  he  labors  from  morning  till  night,  he  never  allows 
even  a  green  leaf  near  him.  Watch  in  hand,  he  scolds  his 
people  if  they  are  a  moment  late  entering  that  abominable 
nest,  and  at  night  he  gazes  at  the  stars  in  the  sky,  because 
he  can  count  them  like  the  thalers  on  his  table.  He  is 
miserly  and  never  relieves  any  poor  person " 

"Stop,  my  child,"  said  the  princess.  "I  must  contra- 
dict you  there.  The  poor  of  this  town  have  no  better 
friend,  though  his  charity  may  be  conducted  in  a  manner 
peculiar  to  himself,  and  his  signature  may  consequently  be 
often  absent  from  collection  and  subscription  lists." 

I  paused  a  moment  in  surprise. 

"But  he  is  hard  and  cold,"  I  resumed,  "cold  as  an  ice- 
berg to — to  Charlotte,"  I  burst  out,  "and  he  pretends  to 
know  everything  better  than  any  one  else." 

MA  files  Ulttt  iniquities,"  laughed  the  chamberlain. 


168  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

•'But  the  man  showed  lately  that  he  really  does  under- 
stand some  things  better  than  other  people,"  he  added. 
"Our  knowing  Count  Zell  has,  to  the  infinite  satisfaction 
of  everybody,  been  nicely  duped  at  last.  His  Darling, 
which  he  brought  back  on  his  last  journey,  was  a  splendid 
specimen  of  beauty  and  elegance,  but  a  tricky  beast. 
Many  maintain  that  he  has  been  a  circus  horse,  so  singular 
are  his  habits.  Zell  was  dying  to  get  rid  of  him,  but  in 
our  circle  there  was  of  course  no  one  who  would  bite;  but 
out  of  consideration  for  Zell  every  one  was  discreet,  so  as 
not  to  prevent  others  from  coming  forward,  and  young 
Lieutenant  Claudius  was  all  on  fire  about  him.  Several 
intimate  friends  of  Zell's  had  made  up  a  plausible  story 
about  the  acquisition  he  would  be,  but  his  uncle  saw  Darling 
and  refused  to  purchase — fortunately  for  the  young  man ; 
for  before  another  hour  the  beast  had  thrown  Banker  Tres- 
sel's  son,  who  had  bought  it  and  is  a  very  fair  horseman ; 
and  the  animal  has  also  kicked  him  very  badly." 

"I  must  say,  Herr  von  Wismar,  that  this  'discretion'  in 
your  circle,  as  you  call  it,  is  very  offensive  to  me;  and 
Count  Zell  may  take  care  how  he  makes  his  next  appear- 
ance at  court."  So  said  the  princess,  her  large  eyes  glit- 
tering with  indignation.  "Is  the  fall  likely  to  have  bad 
consequences?" 

"I  scarcely  think  so,"  stammered  the  chamberlain. 
"But  your  highness  may  be  quite  at  ease  and  remember 
who  the  horseman  was,"  he  added,  coughing  slightly  and 
smiling  at  the  same  time.  "That  is  robust  blood  and 
quite  different  flesh  and  blood,  not  easily  injured.  A  few 
scratches  and  blue  bruises  will  end  the  matter." 

"You  were  speaking  previously  of  a  Charlotte  in  Clau- 
dius' house,"  said  Herr  von  Wismar,  turning  to  me,  and 
feeling  no  doubt  that  he  had  gone  a  little  too  far.  "Is 
that  the  imposing,  handsome  young  girl?" 

"Yes.  Isn't  Charlotte  handsome?"  I  interrupted  him 
delightedly.  I  at  once  forgave  him  all  his  childish  folly 
for  the  sake  of  this  one  portrait  he  had  drawn. 

"Too  colossal  for  my  taste  and  too  much  of  the  eman- 
cipated young  lady.  I  have  met  her  occasionally  at  the 
'female  society,'  "  said  the  princess,  more  to  the  cham- 
berlain. The  meaning  of  "emancipated"  was  altogether 
unknown  to  me,  but  I  heard  that  there  was  disapprobation 
in  the  lady's  tone,  and  it  pained  and  wounded  me  deeply. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  16$ 

"A  singular  kind  of  relationship  it  is  to  have  in  a  house, 
How  did  Claudius  come  to  adopt  the  children  of  a  French- 
man?" 

Herr  von  Wismar  raised  his  shoulders,  evidently  unable 
to  throw  any  light  on  the  subject. 

"And  those  we  are  speaking  of  are  anything  but  grate- 
ful for  this  same  adoption,"  said  Friiuiein  von  Wilden- 
spring.  "This  Charlotte  always  angrily  resists  taking  the 
name  of  Claudius.  Mericourt  was  on  her  school-books, 
and  her  school-fellows  were  often  mischievous  enough  to 
call  her  by  her  detested  name  instead,  just  to  see  how  her 
sparkling  eyes  looked." 

"Oh,  then  you  know  the  young  girl  pretty  well,  Con- 
stance?" inquired  the  princess. 

"As  far  as  school -fellows  of  a  different  station  happen 
to  mix  with  each  other,  your  highness,"  replied  the  young 
court  lady,  shrugging  her  shoulders  with  indifference. 
"We  spent  two  years  in  the  self-same  school  in  Dresden. 
On  her  arrival  here  she  sought  to  renew  our  obligatory 
acquaintance  and  paid  me  a  visit." 

"Well?"  said  the  princess  as  the  young  lady  hesitated 
for  a  moment. 

"Papa  was  entirely  opposed  to  any  such  intercourse  be- 
tween us,  so  I  merely  called  there  and  left  a  card." 

She  paused  suddenly,  turned  round,  and  made  a  deep 
and  very  graceful  bow.  A  handsome  young  man,  with  a 
very  grave  face,  entered  the  room  by  a  side  door,  in  com- 
pany with  my  father  and  several  other  gentlemen.  It  was 
the  duke. 

The  princess  received  him  with  all  the  affection  of  a 
mother,  then  presented  me  to  him.  I  needed  no  great 
increase  of  courage  to  enable  me  to  look  up  at  his  serene 
highness  and  to  reply  to  the  friendly  questions  he  asked 
me.  I  had  rapidly  become  at  my  ease,  and  the  daisy  was 
able  to  raise  her  head  confidently  over  a  great  deal.  My 
father  looked  at  me  in  amazement  and  suddenly  stroked 
my  hair  caressingly  with  his  hand. 

His  face  was  greatly  flushed  again.  I  looked  at  the  gold 
medals,  several  of  which  the  prince  was  showing  to  his 
aunt,  with  absolute  hatred.  He  told  her  that  this  acquisi- 
tion had  cost  him  a  considerable  sum,  but  that  it  would 
make  the  already  far-famed  medallion  cabinet  of  the  court 
of  K.  one  of  the  most  perfect  iu  the  world}  for  by  the 


170  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

purchase  of  this  day  he  had  acquired  specimens  which,  to 
many  a  connoisseur  in  such  matters,  would  seem  almost  as 
fabulous  as  the  fairy-tales. 

I  saw  the  nervous  twitching  which  convulsed  my  father's 
face  almost  incessantly,  and  I  pitied  him  inexpressibly. 
I  could  easily  picture  to  myself  the  agony  it  must  have 
caused  him  to  see  these  ardently  coveted  treasures  passing 
from  hand  to  hand  as  the  lawful  property  of  another  am  id 
universal  admiration;  and  bitterness  against  him  who, 
with  his  shop  wisdom,  had  been  the  cause  of  this  renun- 
ciation, made  my  whole  soul  rise  in  rebellion  and  caused 
me  entirely  to  forget  all  reserve. 

"Look  here,"  I  said  in  a  low  voice  to  the  princess,  who 
was  just  inspecting  the  imperial  medal  with  delight. 
"Herr  Claudius  pretended  to  know  better  about  that  too. 
He  maintained  that  that  medal  there  was  not  real." 

The  duke  turned  round  and  fixed  his  piercing  glance,  to 
my  terror,  half  in  surprise,  half  in  anger,  on  my  face. 

My  father,  however,  laughed  and  again  stroked  my  hair 
back  from  my  forehead  with  his  hand. 

"Just  look  at  this  little  diplomat!"  he  exclaimed.  "It 
is  fortunate  papa  is  safe  in  the  saddle,  or  this  cunning 
little  chatterbox  might  make  trouble  for  him.  Ridicu- 
lous!"  he  added,  shrugging  his  shoulders  and  addressing 
Herr  von  Wismar,  the  only  person  who  tried  to  assume 
the  air  of  a  skeptic,  although  the  old  dotard  knew  no  more 
about  thp  matter  than  ths  man  in  the  moon.  "Ridicu- 
lous! The  fellow  understands  about  as  much  of  numis- 
matics as  I  do  of  his  tulip-raising,  but  for  your  satisfaction 
I  will  just  mention  that  the  disposer  of  these  medals  left 
K.  to-day  with  several  letters  of  recommendation  from  me 
in  his  pocket.  He  is  about  to  visit  the  various  courts  and 
universities  under  the  aegis  of  my  name.  Is  this  a  suffi- 
cient guarantee  to  you  for  the  new  acquisitions  made  by 
his  highness  on  my  authority?" 

Herr  von  Wismar  smiled  with  an  embarrassed  air  and 
assured  my  father  that  the  faintest  doubt  never  crossed 
his  mind. 

A  regular  storm  now  arose  among  those  present  against 
dilettantism,  and  none  expressed  greater  disgust  than  Fraa- 
lein  von  Wildenspring,  who,  with  an  air  of  the  utmost 
confidence,  had  interspersed  the  conversation  with  scraps 
of  learning. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  171 

"The  dilettanti  are  and  have  always  been  the  plague  of 
the  professional  man,"  said  my  father.  "Up  to  this  I 
must  confess  I  have  had  nothing  to  say  against  the  elder 
Claudius.  He  is  intensely  reserved,  purposely  avoids 
meeting  me  in  his  own  house  or  grounds,  and  lets  me  do 
according  to  my  pleasure  with  his  art  treasures;  on  the 
other  hand,  my  so-called  'familiar'  often  wearies  my  very 
life  out." 

"Oh,  the  dandy  lieutenant?"  laughed  one  of  the  gentle- 
men. 

"He  sips  knowledge  as  the  butterfly  the  flower-blossom," 
continued  my  father  with  an  affirmatory  nod  of  his  head. 
"If  one  but  makes  the  most  distant  approach  to  a  call  on 
his  reflective  powers  he's  put  off  on  the  spot !  To  him  the 
present  predilection  for  antiquities  which  has  been  made 
the  fashion  by  the  court  has  just  the  same  meaning  as 
those  incessantly  changing  follies  of  fashion  that  make 
him  use  a  gilded  saddle  to-day,  a  beetle  breloque  to-mor- 
row. He  accompanied  his  uncle  a  short  time  ago  on  a 
business  journey  to  the  north.  At  his  earnest  request  I 
gave  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Professor  Hart  in 
Hanover,  who  in  consequence  was  kind  enough  to  accom- 
pany them  to  a  group  of  Hun's  graves  in  the  haide  and 
have  one  opened.  Oh,  how  the  discoveries  they  made 
looked  when  the  young  lieutenant  brought  them  to  me. 
Bent  and  broken  to  puces,  'because,'  as  he  excused  him- 
self, 'he  had  put  them  in  one  and  the  same  chest  with 
some  minerals  which  Professor  Hart  had  given  him  at  the 
same  time  for  a  college  friend!'  My  heart  really  grew 
sick  within  me." 

Little  did  my  father  suspect  that  at  that  moment  my 
heart  had  also  grown  sick  within  me — that  I  felt  an  in- 
describable ill-will  toward  those  I  was  sitting  among. 
They  laughed  and  jeered  and  nobody  ever  thought  of  tak- 
ing the  part  of  the  absent.  The  princess  had  at  once 
excused  Herr  Claudius  when  I  had  gone  too  far  in  my 
accusations — even  Herr  von  Wismar  had  spoken  in  his 
favor;  but  for  Charlotte  and  Dagobert  there  was  not  one 
friendly  word — the  poor  things! 

The  princess  suddenly  interrupted  the  general  conver- 
sation by  a  question  addressed  to  my  father  as  to  when 
the  arrangement  of  the  antiquities  in  the  Carolinenlust 
would  be  finished.  She  felt  much  interested  in  the  art 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

treasures  which  had  been  brought  to  light,  aud  intended 
to  accompany  the  duke  on  his  first  visit. 

"I  have  another  idea  at  the  same  time,"  she  said.  "I 
have  a  strong  desire  to  see  the  Claudius  establishment  for 
once.  Its  conservatories  are  far-famed,  but  I  have  always 
hesitated  to  go  there  direct,  for  the  owner's  burgher 
pride  is  quite  intolerable.  On  that  account  I  fear  it  may 
oe  difficult  to  see  the  grounds." 

"And  then  remember,  too,  your  highness,  the  decidedly 
pietistic  tone  which  the  establishment  has  assumed  for 
some  time  past  and  which  is  so  repugnant  to  your  high- 
ness," added  Fraulein  von  Wildenspring  energetically. 
One  could  see  that  the  princess'  intention  of  visiting  the 
house  was  odious  to  her. 

"On  that  very  account  I  am  making  an  excuse  of  the  art- 
treasure  exhibition.  I  can  see  the  garden  in  passing 
through,  and  do  not  need  to  take  either  the  pride  of  the 
owner  or  yet  his  pietistical  tendencies  into  account." 

The  young  court  lady  handed  her  patroness  a  cup  of  tea 
in  silence  and  then  resumed  her  work  with  apparent  sub- 
mission. The  remainder  of  the  evening  was  occupied  in  a 
lively  discussion  on  ancient  art,  and  the  court  gentlemen, 
who  had  so  ruthlessly  censured  dilettantism,  joined  in  it 
with  as  much  confidence  and  enthusiasm  as  though  they 
had  all  been  individually  as  celebrated  men  as  my  father, 
and  as  though  the  study  of  archaeology  was  the  one  and 
only  subject  on  which  their  time  and  energy  had  been 
centered.  I  had  believed  in  them  fully  had  it  not  been 
for  the  sarcastic  glances  exchanged  so  frequently  between 
the  duke  and  my  father. 

As  we  were  leaving,  the  princess  sent  for  a  silk  hand- 
kerchief and  tied  it  round  my  throat.  She  said  it  had 
grown  cold,  and  her  dear  little  haide  lark  must  not  grow 
hoarse.  She  assured  my  father  that  she  would  very  often 
have  me  with  her  and  take  me  specially  under  her  protec- 
tion. She  then  kissed  me  on  the  forehead  and  we  left  the 
castle. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  1?3 

XXI. 

IN  the  mean  time  a  violent  storm  had  passed  over  the 
town.  The  cool  air  played  around  my  temples  and  the 
wet  pebbles  on  the  castle  walks  sparkled  and  glittered  in 
the  gaslight.  One  of  the  court  carriages  took  us  home. 
It  thundered  into  Claudius'  yard,  and  a  sensation  of 
childish  vanity  made  my  heart  swell  with  pride  as  I  sprang 
out  on  the  pavement  past  the  duke's  footman  and  entered 
a  door,  now  opened  to  me  with  the  utmost  submission, 
but  which  but  a  few  days  previously  had  been  almost 
closed  against  me.  My  eye  sought  Charlotte's  room.  I 
should  like  to  have  been  seen  from  thence,  but  the  whole 
front  house  was  in  darkness,  with  the  exception  of  the 
staircase  window.  A  splendid  old-fashioned  bell  lamp 
hung  above  in  the  center  of  the  hall,  and  illuminated  sucn 
of  the  enormous  arches  of  gray  stone  as  were  in  closest 
proximity,  which  during  the  day-time  seemed  always  an 
impossibility. 

One  of  the  magnificent  conservatories,  which  the  prin- 
cess had  spoken  of  that  very  evening,  was  brilliantly 
lighted  up.  Two  large  lamps  hung  suspended  within  and 
shed  a  purple  light  upon  the  night  around.  As  we  were 
walking  up  the  center  path  I  heard  rapid  steps  coming 
from  the  conservatory,  something  light  fluttered  through 
the  bushes,  and  all  at  once  Charlotte  stood  before  us. 

"I  heard  you  coming,"  she  said  in  a  suppressed  voice 
and  breathing  hurriedly.  "Pray  leave  the  princess  with 
me  another  half-hour,  Herr  von  Sassen — the  night  is  so 
lovely.  I  will  bring  her  to  you  to  the  Carolinenlust  quite 
safely." 

My  father  bade  me  good-night  and  promised  to  acquaint 
Use  with  my  protracted  stay.  He  left  us,  and  Charlotte 
threw  her  arm  round  my  shoulder  and  drew  me  to  her. 

"There  is  nothing  else  for  its  little  one;  you  must  be 
something  of  a  lightning  conductor,"  she  said  half-aloud 
and  hastily  to  me.  "Over  there,'"'  nnd  she  pointed  toward 
the  greenhouse,  "two  hard  heads  are  falling  out  with  each 
other.  Uncle  Eric  so  seldom  spends  an  evening  with  us 
that  Eckhof  has  gradually  accustomed  himself  to  play  first 
fiddle  at  our  tea-table.  This  evening,  to  our  extreme 
amazement,  uncle  presided  there  himself;  but  we  had 
scarcely  taken  refuge  in  the  conservatory  from  the  first 


174  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

heavy  drops  of  rain  before  Eckhof,  with  the  most  incon- 
ceivable folly  and  want  of  tact,  began  to  reproach  my 
uncle  most  bitterly  for  having  invited  Helldorf  to  dinner 
to-day.  He  has  raised  a  wasp's  nest  about  his  own  ears!" 

She  paused  and  stood  a  moment  listening.  Eckhof's 
harsh  voice  was  heard  holding  forth. 

"It  can't  hurt  the  old  man,  indeed,  to  have  his  mum- 
meries in  the  business  and  in  the  house  put  some  stop  to," 
she  said,  and  one  could  hear  the  anger  in  her  voice.  "He 
has  become  too  confident  and  carries  the  thing  too  far, 
that  is  quite  true;  only  it  must  not  come  before  Uncle 
Eric's  judgment-seat.  He  murders  the  old  man  with  his 
relentless  eyes,  his  coldness  and  calm,  which  give  the 
keenness  of  a  knife  to  every  word  he  utters."  She  moved 
forward  somewhat  quieter.  "God  knows  what  has  so  sud- 
denly given  rise  to  this  dispute.  For  years  together 
Uncle  Eric  has  gone  about  to  all  appearances  blind  to  this 
influence  in  the  house.  Eckhof  has  always  been  careful 
to  avoid  exhibiting  his  peculiarities  exactly  before  him, 
but  in  this  hour  of  intense  excitement  he  is  unable  to 
control  his  tongue,  and  a  very  stream  of  his  jargon  is  issu- 
ing from  his  lips — it  is  really  intolerable !  It  is  repulsive 
to  me  to  the  last  degree  to  listen  to  such  stuff  from  a 
man's  mouth.  On  the  other  hand,  I  owe  the  old  man 
many  thanks.  He  always  stands  up  for  Dagobert  and  me, 
and  that  makes  it  my  duty  to  cut  his  punishment  as  short 
as  possible.  Come  along:  your  appearance  will  put  an 
end  to  the  whole  scene." 

The  nearer  I  came  to  the  conservatory — it  was  not  the  one 
Darling  had  ruined — the  more  I  felt  as  if  in  a  dream.  I 
no  longer  heard  what  Charlotte  was  whispering,  but 
allowed  her  to  lead  me  mechanically  along.  The  hot- 
house lay  far  to  one  side  of  the  middle  walk,  and  till  now 
I  had  never  approached  it  nearer;  I  had  merely  seen  the 
glitter  of  its  enormous  panes  in  the  distance.  Botany  and 
geography  were  both,  as  a  matter  of  course,  unknown 
worlds  to  me  then,  and  I  had  no  idea  that  the  extraor- 
dinary structure  yonder  was  quite  a  spot  of  tropical  life 
imprisoned  in  glass  and  set  down  in  the  midst  of  German 
vegetation.  I  had  but  two  words  for  it— marvel  and 
effect. 

But  neither  tubs  nor  flower-pots  were  to  be  seen  there 
as  in  the  ©the*  bot-koass.  la  ih=»  vsry  «?<wt«r,  imd 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  175 

the  ground  itself,  rose  stately  palm  trees,  so  high  that 
they  seemed  nigh  to  bursting  through  the  protecting  glass. 
Water  gushed  over  rocky  brown  masses;  its  spray  dashed 
against  the  crags  in  sparkling  drops  and  made  the  ex- 
quisitely pinnated  feathery  fronds  of  the  ferns,  which 
grew  around  in  luxuriant  beauty,  tremble  incessantly. 
Cactuses  grew  upon  the  stones,  with  their  strange,  fat, 
helpless-looking  forms;  but  long  purple  bells  hung  down 
from  their  green  flesh ;  and  within,  even  in  the  distant 
dusky  twilight,  the  wonderfully  cut  and  twisted  plants 
shed  a  yellow  golden  hue  around  like  pale  scattered  light 
reflectors. 

I  looked  up  at  Charlotte,  fancying  she  must  be  in- 
fluenced by  the  same  charm  and  would  wander  on  like  the 
inexperienced  morsel  of  humanity  at  her  side.  I  never 
remembered  that  all  this  formed  a  part  of  that  "shop" 
which  she  and  Dagobert  so  determinedly  hated  and  de- 
spised. Her  glittering  eye  was  fixed  on  one  spot — Herr 
Claudius'  face. 

He  was  standing  near  a  palm  tree,  in  the  full  light  of  a 
lamp,  and  looked  as  tall  and  straight  as  its  elegantly  pro- 
portioned stem.  It  was  not  true — there  was  no  killing 
coldness  in  his  relentless  eyes  at  that  moment.  He  had  a 
slight  color  and  his  face  Avas  animated  from  inward  excite- 
ment, though  his  arms  tightly  folded  over  his  breast  gave 
him  an  appearance  of  calm  and  immovability. 

The  tea-table,  which  had  been  hastily  pushed  in,  looked 
strange  enough  amid  such  surroundings.  Dagobert  was 
sitting  on  the  edge  of  it.  He  was  still  in  uniform,  and 
the  glitter  and  brilliancy  on  his  breast  and  shoulders  pro- 
duced a  very  different  effect  amid  the  gorgeous  coloring 
of  the  tropical  bloom  to  that  which  his  uncle's  unadorned 
form  did.  With  his  back  turned  to  Herr  Claudius  and  in 
evident  embarrassment  he  sat  balancing  a  tea-spoon  on  his 
forefinger,  looking  just  as  if  he  had  been  involuntarily 
obliged  to  bend  beneath  a  passing  tempest.  He  seemed 
to  have  kept  aloof  as  entirely  from  the  unpleasant  discus- 
sion as  Fraulein  Fliedner,  who  was  knitting  as  rapidly  as 
though  some  institution  for  destitute  children  stood  in 
immediate  need  of  new  stockings  for  its  every  inmate. 

"All  that  is  quite  ineffectual  with  me,  Herr  Eckhof," 

said  Herr   Claudius  to  the  bookkeeper,  who  stood,  his 

'••*-  reslin*  @a  tb«  back  ei  ft  ahair,  at  some  distance 


176  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

from  his  chief,  but  his  head  all  the  same  thrown  back 
with  an  air  of  pride.  He  had  just  that  moment  been 
speaking  in  his  telling  voice,  in  that  emphatic  and  marked, 
manner  which  must  perforce  hit  home.  "Blasphemers, 
unbelievers,  infidels — these  favorite  epithets  of  your  party 
must  not  be  under-estimated  in  their  effect/'  continued 
Herr  Claudius.  "It  is  by  their  means  you  accomplish  the 
well-nigh  incredible  fact  that  in  the  nineteenth  century  a 
large  party  of  more  enlightened  people  submit  to  a  handful 
of  narrow-minded  fanatics,  at  least  in  outward  seeming. 
Many,  even  people  of  intellect,  are  influenced  to  a  certain 
extent  and  stand  in  awe  of  these  anathemas,  and  so  remain 
silent  contrary  to  their  better  judgment;  and  this  sup- 
ports your  party  still  as  on  a  judgment-seat,  though  rest- 
ing indeed  on  feet  of  potter's  clay." 

The  chair  shook  and  swayed  beneath  the  bookkeeper's 
hands,  but  Herr  Claudius  did  not  allow  the  sound  to  dis- 
turb him. 

"I  honor  Christianity — understand  me  aright — not  the 
Church,"  he  continued,  "and  I  have  consequently  carried 
out  and  held  fast  all  the  directions  of  my  predecessors, 
coinciding  as  they  do  with  my  own  firm  convictions;  and 
in  accordance  with  their  pious  intentions  all  employed  in 
the  Firma  Claudius  shall  be  piously  educated — but  I  will 
never  allow  my  house  to  be  made  a  nest  in  which  to  hatch 
religious  errors.  A  mercantile  house  that  has  its  corre- 
spondents in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  the  business  rela- 
tions of  which  extend  to  Turkey,  China,  and  the  whole 
world,  and  that  black  orthodoxy,  that  infallibility  of  faith, 
confines  it  like  a  snail  in  its  shell — there  cannot  be  a  more 
absurd  union !  How  awfully  must  our  young  commercial 
travelers,  whom  you  take  such  pains  to  bring  up  in  the 
orthodox  faith,  play  the  hypocrite  when  they  come  into 
friendly  intercourse  with  those  whom  you  have  taught 
them  to  consider  as  despised  and  cast  off  by  the  Almighty. 
No,  I  cannot  forgive  myself  for  having  allowed  such  a 
gloomy  spirit  to  run  riot  here,  that  my  people  have  been 
compelled  to  bear " 

"I  frave  not  compelled  any  one,"  interrupted  the  book- 
keeper. 

"Certainly  not  with  the  knout  in  your  hand,  Herr 
Eckhof,  but  as  far  as  your  position  here  allowed.  I  know, 
for  instance,  that  our  junior  clerk,  whose  salary  is  but 


THE  PRINCEPS  OF  Tffff  MOOH.  177 

moderate  and  who  is  obliged  out  of  it  to  support  a  widowed 
mother — I  know  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  subscribe  to 
your  mission  box  far  beyond  his  means;  a  thing  of  the 
existence  of  which  I  had  not  the  remotest  idea.  Our 
work-people  all,  without  exception,  permit  you  to  deduct 
a  certain  sum  weekly  from  them  for  this  same  mission 
box,  because,  in  fact,  they  dare  not  do  otherwise,  thinking 
you  can  do  anything  with  me  and  might  injure  them. 
Do  you  never  consider,  then,  how  dearly  these  people 
have  to  pay  for  their  faith  without  this  addition?  Their 
baptism,  the  celebration  of  their  marriages,  the  com- 
munion service,  even  their  departure  out  of  this  world — 
the  Church  demands  a  tithe  of  their  labor  for  all  these. 
Therefore  away  with  the  mission  box  out  of  my  house, 
away  with  all  the  rubbish  I  found  in  the  work-room 
drawers  yesterday,  which  ruin  our  noble  language  with 
their  silly,  childish  nonsense  and  recall  views  belonging 
entirely  to  the  unenlightened  Middle  Ages.'' 

These  crushing  remarks  were  all  made  in  anything  bnt 
a  loud  voice  or  passionate  tone,  and  the  color  scarcely 
deepened  on  his  cheek  as  he  occasionally  stretched  his 
hand  out  indignantly  toward  his  bookkeeper. 

Charlotte  stood  riveted  to  the  spot.  She  appeared  to 
have  forgotten  that  she  had  sought  me  out  on  purpose  to 
put  an  end  to  the  affair. 

"He  speaks  well,"  she  said.  "I  wouldn't  have  given 
him  credit  for  it — he  is  generally  so  abrupt  and  indolent 
about  speaking.  Eeally,  Eckhof  is  going  to  play  the  idiot 
and  throw  down  the  gauntlet  again.  He  will  get  another 
cuff,"  she  exclaimed  angrily  and  fixing  her  glowing  eyes 
upon  the  bookkeeper  as  if  she  would  fain  have  pierced 
through  the  glass. 

He  had  left  the  spot  he  had  hitherto  occupied  and  had 
advanced  a  few  steps  nearer  to  Herr  Claudius. 

"Despise  the  'childish  nonsense'  if  you  will,  Herr 
Claudius,"  he  said — his  pleasing  voice  could  assume  a 
tone  of  cutting  sharpness.  "It  refreshes  and  strengthens 
me  and  many  other  really  Christian  people.  The  Almighty 
wills  that  we  should  walk  in  simplicity,  childish  simplicity, 
here  below,  and  therefore  we  shall  find  pardon  in  his  eyes 
more  readily  than  if  we  made  the  works  of  the  immortal 
Schiller  and  Goethe  our  study,  who,  of  course,  do 


178  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

not  destroy  onr  noble  language.  If  yon  do  not  like 
my  honest  endeavor  to  serve  my  Lord  and  Master,  if  you 
will  not  allow  it  in  your  house,  of  course  I  must  sub- 
mit in  all  humility;  only  I  fancied  it  could  not  injure  the 
house  in  the  Mauerstrasse  if  a  great  deal  of  prayer  were 
offered  up  in  it.  A  great  deal  has  occurred  in  it  which 
cries  to  the  Almighty  and  must  be  atoned  for." 

"You  have  made  me  this  indirect  reproach  already 
twice  within  the  last  few  days,"  said  Herr  Claudius 
quietly.  "I  respect  your  age  and  your  service  in  the 
house,  and  on  that  account  will  do  no  more  than  refer  to 
a  mode  of  acting  which  does  not  despise  raking  up  old 
sores  and  endeavoring  by  their  influence  to  prop  up  a 
power  which  is  on  the  wane.  I  leave  it  to  your  own  de- 
cision if  such  a  method  is  noble.  What  I  may  have  com- 
mitted in  my  youthful  folly  and  passion  I  take  upon  my 
own  shoulders.  Unfortunately  I  have  added  yet  another 
wrong  course  to  it,  in  that  I  have,  partly  in  the  wish  to 
atone  for  that  son's  absence,  permitted  you  to  go  about 
the  house  and  concerns  quite  unrestrainedly  and  to  do 
pretty  much  what  you  would  even  with  myself.  It  would 
be  a  crying  sin  were  I  to  allow  all  the  people  who  are 
dependent  on  me  to  suffer  for  my  offense  even  one  day 
longer.  I  will  not  have,  I  do  not  wish  for  your  prayers, 
which  are  only  enforced  and  perfectly  without  effect." 

"What  did  he  do?"  I  whispered  to  Charlotte. 

"He  shot  Eckhof  s  only  son." 

I  tore  myself  away  from  her  in  horror  and  with  difficulty 
suppressed  a  scream. 

"For  pity's  sake  don't  be  so  childish,"  said  Charlotte 
impatiently,  drawing  me  at  the  same  time  with  one  power- 
ful movement  once  more  within  her  reach.  "It  was  an 
honorable  duel  in  which  Eckhof's  son  fell,  and  beyond  a 
doubt  the  most  interesting  moment  in  Uncle  Eric's  whole 
biirgerlich  life.  But  let  us  go  in.  Matters  have  reached 
a  climax." 

Without  more  ado  she  walked  along  in  front  of  the 
glass  inclosure  with  me  and  pushed  me  in  at  the  side 
door.  I  stepped  on  fine  gravel.  Serpentine  walks  wound 
through  shady  thickets,  which  were  overshadowed  in 
their  turn  by  rockeries  interspersed  with  the  finest  velvet 
sward.  The  thinner  this  lattice-work  of  leaves  and 
branches  became  the  more  nervous  I  felt.  I  certainly  did 


TBE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

not  stand  in  such  a  position  toward  the  owner  of  the  house 
as  to  warrant  my  intruding  at  these  unseasonable  hours 
during  discussions  never  intended  to  meet  my  ear.  What 
if  the  master  of  the  house  were  to  be  really  angry?  I 
know  not  how  it  was,  but  all  at  once  I  felt  myself  unable 
any  longer  to  think  so  lightly,  "Oh,  it  is  only  Herr 
Claudius!"  I  trembled  before  him. 

Charlotte  had  thrown  her  arm  round  me,  and  as  I 
endeavored  with  the  first  impulse  to  make  my  escape,  I 
felt  my  waist  unmercifully  squeezed.  I  was  impelled 
forward  as  if  the  wind  were  blowing  me  on,  and  all  at  once 
we  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  astonished  company  as  though 
we  had  fallen  from  the  sky. 

"I  picked  the  princess  up  in  the  garden,"  said  Char- 
lotte rapidly  and  cutting  short  a  sentence  just  about  to 
issue  from  the  bookkeeper's  lips.  "Dear  Miss  Fliedner, 
just  look  at  the  child.  Does  she  not  look  quite  another 
person?  She  has  been  at  the  court  tea  and  has  driven 
home  in  the  court  carriage  just  like  Cinderella!  Let  us 
see,  child,  if  one  of  your  little  satin  slippers  hasn't  been 
left  on  the  castle  steps!" 

Notwithstanding  my  embarrassment  I  could  not  help 
laughing,  and  I  accepted  the  chair  which  Dagobert 
brought  me.  Charlotte  was  right:  the  dispute  was  cut 
short,  concluded,  as  if  it  had  never  taken  place;  and  when 
I  looked  up  I  caught  sight  of  the  bookkeeper  disappearing 
by  the  very  path  we  had  come.  Herr  Claudius  was  still 
standing  near  the  palm  tree.  With  what  shy  curiosity 
did  my  eye  scan  him !  Had  he  not  the  brand  on  his  fore- 
head ?  He  had  killed  a  man !  I  only  saw  the  grave  blue 
eyes  looking  down  at  me,  and  I  shrank  back  timidly. 

Friiulein  Fliedner  began  to  breathe  freely  once  more. 
My  arrival  was  evidently  agreeable  to  her  and  she  pressed 
my  hand  tenderly. 

"Tell  us  all  about  it,  little  one,"  she  said  as  she  took 
off  my  hat  and  pulled  out  the  crushed  trimmings  of  my 
sleeves.  "What  was  it  like  at  the  court?" 

I  buried  myself  deep  down  in  the  cane  chair.  One  of 
the  gigantic  fern  leaves,  looking  emerald-like  by  the 
lamplight,  waved  over  my  head,  and  others  again  hung 
sideways  across  and  fanned  my  bare  shoulders  soft  and 
cool.  There  I  sat,  under  the  shelter  of  a  protecting 
canopy  as  it  were,  and  I  felt  securely  concealed.  lu 


180  THE  PRINCESS  Of  THE  MOOR. 

addition  Herr  Claudius  drew  back,  but  he  did  not  leave 
the  conservatory.  One  could  hear  him  softly  pacing  up 
and  down  behind  the  groups  of  rocks  and  plants. 

My  courage  rose  once  more  and  I  described  my  glorious 
debut,  at  first  with  some  hesitation,  but  gradually,  as  I 
became  myself  amused,  quite  fluently — how  my  so  ardu- 
ously prepared  reverence  had  come  to  naught;  and  of  my 
childish  song  and  the  scrap  of  my  history  which  I  had 
related  to  the  princess  with  so  much  trustful  simplicity ! 

Charlotte  interrupted  me  every  now  and  then  -with  a 
burst  of  laughter,  and  Fraulein  Fliedner  could  not  for- 
bear joining  in  it  too  occasionally  while  she  patted  my 
cheek  kindly.  Dagobert  alone  did  not  join  in  the  laugh. 
He  looked  at  me  with  the  very  same  expression  of  alarm 
as  the  gray-eyed  young  lady  at  court,  and  when,  in  con- 
clusion, I  took  off  the  shawl,  because  I  felt  it  too  warm, 
and  threw  it  on  the  table,  saying  it  belonged  to  the  prin- 
cess, he  took  it  up  with  the  most  indescribable  respect  and 
hung  it  carefully  on  the  back  of  his  chair,  which  annoyed 
and  irritated  me  beyond  measure. 

"Stop,"  cried  Charlotte  suddenly,  stretching  her  hand 
out  toward  me  as  I  was  proceeding  in  my  description. 
"Just  look,  Frauleiu  Fliedner,  and  say  yourself  if  the 
princess,  despite  her  dark-blue  eyes,  is  not  far  more  like 
one  of  those  interesting  daughters  of  Israel,  such  as  the 
Bible  represents,  than  a  shoot  of  an  old  and  thoroughly 
German  stock.  There!  as  the  luxuriantly  curling  hair 
stands  out  against  the  fern  tree — pray,  princess,  keep 
your  hand  a  moment  longer  thus  above  your  forehead — 
she  recalls  the  picture  of  Paul  Delaroche's  young  Jewess 
vividly  to  my  mind  as  on  the  banks  of  the  5vile  she 
/watches  in  secret  the  fate  of  the  little  Moses." 

"My  grandmother  was  a  Jewess,"  I  said,  without  the 
least  embarrassment. 

The  measured  tread  in  the  background  of  the  conserva- 
tory suddenly  ceased,  and  a  death-like  silence  reigned  one 
moment  at  the  tea-table  where  I  was  sitting,  so  that  I 
could  overlook  a  part  of  the  garden  through  the  glass. 
The  moon  had  risen,  but  was  still  hidden  beneath  a  bank 
of  clouds  whose  jagged  edges  were  silvered  by  its  light. 
The  broad  plain  was  flooded  by  a  pale  flickering  light, 
which  gave  a  spectral  and  distorted  appearance  to  the 
objects  around.  The  bed  of  white  lilies,  though  distant 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  181 

and  partially  hidden  by  the  trees  overhanging  the  stream, 
appeared  notwithstanding  to  be  the  one  spot  which 
absorbed  all  the  scanty  moonshine.  It  shone  brightly 
opposite  to  me  and  made  me  think,  with  pain  and  anguish 
once  again,  of  my  poor  grandmother  as  she  lay  stretched 
beneath  the  oak.  The  whole  scene  as  it  occurred  and  all  I 
had  suffered  through  that  fearful  night  arose  before  me. 
The  few  and  ever-touching  points  of  interest  which  had 
taken  place  between  the  mentally  diseased  lady  and  myself 
during  those  long  years,  then  the  sudden  awakening  of 
grandmother's  love  in  her  dying  hour,  my  misery  when  I 
perceived  the  approach  of  death  was  about  to  rob  me  of 
this  newly  discovered  heart — all  this  rose  with  overpower- 
ing vividness  before  me;  and  as  it  rose,  so  I  spoke  out.  I 
also  touched  upon  the  dreadful  interview  between  my 
grandmother  and  the  old  clergyman — how  she  had  rejected 
clerical  aid  and  died  in  the  Jewish  faith,  and  how  mild 
and  forgiving  the  old  pastor  had  been.  Suddenly,  while 
all  were  listening  in  the  profoundest  silence,  quick,  heavy 
steps  were  heard  on  the  gravel,  and  the  bookkeeper,  whom 
I  had  fancied  safe  long  ago  in  the  Carolinenlust,  stood 
before  me. 

"The  man  was  an  idiot!"  he  literally  thundered  forth. 
"He  should  not  have  left  the  bed  till  he  had  brought  the 
apostate  soul  back  again.  He  should  have  compelled  her 
to  return.  Priests  have  means  enough  of  rousing  up  the 
refractory  even  when  they  will  tumble  headlong  into 
eternal  death." 

I  sprang  up.  The  idea  that  a  voice  such  as  this  might 
disturb  the  death-struggle  of  some  soul  thus  remorselessly 
and  prolong  the  pangs  of  the  departing  excited  me  fear- 
fully. 

"Oh,  he  dared  not  have  done  that,"  I  said.  "We 
would  not  have  suffered  it,  Use  and  I — most  certainly  not 
— and  I  won't  suffer  you  now  to  speak  another  word  about 
my  poor  dear  grandmother." 

Fraulein  Fliedner  had  risen  quickly  and  laid  both  her 
arms  soothingly  around  me  while  she  cast  an  anxious  glance 
over  toward  the  rocky  groups.  The  steps  were  audible 
once  more,  this  time  approaching  the  tea-table  rapidly. 

"Did  you  tell  the  princess  all  that  too,  Fraulein  von 
Sassen?"  asked  Dagobert  quickly.  He  placed  a  barrier 
to  further  discussion  by  this  question  and  succeeded  in 
iil«Qcing  the  approac 


182  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  shook  my  head  in  silence. 

"Well,  then,  if  I  may  offer  my  advice,  preserve  the 
same  silence  in  future.'* 

"But  for  what  reason?"  inquired  Friuilein  Fliedner. 

"You  can  readily  imagine,  dear  Fliedner,"  he  replied, 
shrugging  his  shoulders.  "It  is  well  known  that  the  dnke 
does  not  look  on  Jews  with  too  favorable  an  eye,  because 
his  former  agent,  Hirschfeld,  swindled  him  to  a  fabu- 
lous extent  and  finished  up  by  absconding.  Further — 
and  that  is  the  principal  thing — the  name  of  von  Sasseu 
has  been  an  unstained  one  for  centuries  at  court.  In  his 
highness'  eyes  Herr  von  Sasseu's  learning  is  of  course  the 
main  feature — but  it  is  a  different  thing  with  other 
people.  They  doubtless  are  chiefly  influenced  by  the  age 
and  purity  of  the  family's  descent.  Such  a  disclosure  on 
the  young  lady's  part  might  have  a  baneful  effect  on  the 
brilliant  reception  the  doctor  has  received,  as  well  upon 
her  own,  which  she  would  doubtless  regret." 

I  remained  silent  because  I  could  not  understand  how 
my  father's  mother  having  been  a  Jewess  could  possibly 
injure  him.  I  failed  entirely  in  forming  any  idea  of  those 
worldly  systems  which  were  as  yet  wholly  unknown  to  me. 
It  was  also  far  from  a  suitable  moment  to  reflect  on  the 
subject.  I  was  still  trembling  from  the  effects  of  the 
fright  which  the  sudden  and  unexpected  appearance  of 
that  dreaded  old  man  had  caused  me.  And  there  he  was 
still,  planted  right  opposite  to  me,  with  folded  arms  and  his 
eyes  glowing  like  coals  beneath  his  white  brows  as  if  they 
would  fain  scorch  me  up.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I 
felt  that  I  was  hated — an  experience  so  difficult  for  the 
young  mind  to  grasp.  The  air  I  breathed  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  my  enemy  seemed  to  stifle  me;  my  stay  in  the 
conservatory  became  intolerable. 

"I  want  to  go  home — Use  is  waiting  for  me,"  I  said, 
disengaging  myself  by  a  sudden  movement  from  Fraulein 
Fliedner's  arms  and  seizing  my  hat,  while  my  eyes  roved 
with  feverish  longing  over  the  cool  large  garden  outside. 

"Well,  then,  come,"  said  Charlotte,  rising.  "I  see  in 
your  glance  we  must  not  venture  to  detain  you!  You  are 
just  in  a  mood  to  smash  the  panes  like  the  wild  Darling." 

"Darling  threw  his  master  to-day  and  kicked  him,"  I 
said. 

Dagobert  started  up, 


THE  PRTNCK88  OF  THE  MOOR.  !&} 

"What!  Arthur  Tressel,  the  famous  horseman?  im- 
possible!'' he  exclaimed. 

"Ah,  bah,  a  splendid  horseman  that!  The  man  would 
have  done  wiser  to  remain  at  his  desk,"  said  Charlotte, 
with  evident  indifference;  but  a  glance  of  fury  shot  from 
beneath  her  eyelids,  which  were  cast  down  in  apparent 
contempt,  and  stole  toward  the  background  of  the  green- 
house. "Did  the  poor  young  man  hurt  himself?" 

"Herr  von  Wismar  told  the  princess  that  his  was 
robust  blood  and  quite  a  different  kind  of  bones — they 
were  not  easily  smashed." 

A  low  laugh  was  heard  from  the  rockery — and  I  believe 
the  shock  of  an  earthquake  could  not  have  produced  a 
more  startling  effect  upon  the  brother  and  sister  than  did 
my  artless  natural  reply  and  that  immediate  though 
scarcely  audible  laugh.  What  had  I,  poor,  terrified  little 
creature — what  could  I  have  done  that  Dagobert  looked  so 
fiercely  at  me?  In  the  first  moment  it  seemed  to  be 
Charlotte's  impulse  to  burst  out  with  some  violent  ex- 
clamation in  the  direction  of  the  rockery,  but  she  con- 
quered herself  and  remained  silent,  only  throwing  her 
head  proudly  back. 

"Come,  little  one,"  she  said.  "Give  Fraulein  Flied- 
ner  your  hand  and  say  good-night — it  is  high  time  to  take 
you  to  bed." 

At  any  other  time  my  seventeen-year-old  dignity  would 
have  taken  offense  at  this  mode  of  treating  me,  but  upon 
this  occasion  I  forgave  Charlotte  on  the  spot;  for  the  lips 
which  thus  compelled  themselves  to  jest  were  white  as 
snow.  The  proud  girl  was  deeply  wounded,  that  I  saw, 
though  all  unconscious  of  the  cause. 

She  walked  beside  me  the  length  of  the  conservatory 
and  the  first  part  of  the  garden  silently  and  to  all  appear- 
ance calm;  but  scarcely  had  we  well  crossed  the  bridge 
ere  she  paused,  and  taking  a  long,  deep  breath  pressed  her 
hands  to  her  heart. 

"Did  you  hear  how  he  laughed?"  she  inquired,  her 
wrath  breaking  forth. 

"It  was  Herr  Claudius?" 

.  "Yes,  child.  When  you  have  lived  somewhat  longer 
among  us  you  will  then  learn  that  this  great  and  superior 
mind  never  laughs,  unless  it  may  be  at  the  weaknesses  of 
mankind,  as  he  did  a  few  minutes  ago.  Little  one,  in 


184  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

future  you  must  be  more  careful  how  you  chatter  about 
everything  that  occurs  at  court  when  my  uncle  is  with 
us." 

I  was  disgusted.  They  had  insisted  on  my  relating 
everything,  and  I  had  in  reality  shown  a  great  deal  of  pru- 
dence for  a  creature  of  my  open,  uncultivated  nature. 
Not  one  word  of  all  that  had  been  said  about  Dagobert  at 
court  had  crossed  my  lips. 

"What  are  you  scolding  about,  though?"  I  asked 
sullenly.  "Am  I  not  to  say  that  they  consider  the  fallen 
rider  strong  and  powerful  at  court?" 

"0  sancta  simplicitas  /"  exclaimed  Charlotte,  with  a 
mocking  laugh.  "Arthur  Tressel  is  tender  and  elegant — 
made  of  the  finest  porcelain.  Herr  von  Wismar's  spirited 
sketch  referred  entirely  to  the  worthy  body  of  the  burgher 
class.  A  cavalier  would  doubtless  have  broken  his  ex- 
quisite and  peculiarly  constructed  ribs  in  such  a  fall, 
and  his  noble  soul  have  winged  its  way  at  once  back  to 
heaven;  but  the  robust  burgher  blood  possesses  far  too 
much  of  the  coarse,  low  earthen  element,  and  so  plaster 
heals  it  and  it  is  not  much  the  worse!" 

She  laughed  once  again  and  proceeded  with  hasty  steps 
toward  the  parterre  of  the  Carolinenlust,  I  by  her  side. 

The  moon  had  now  risen  to  the  full  and  was  shining 
down  on  the  little  castle.  The  pale  light,  falling  on  this 
silent  oasis  in  the  midst  of  the  gloomy  wood,  produced  the 
same  intoxicating  effect  upon  my  nerves  as  the  strong 
scent  of  the  flowers  had  done  in  the  front  garden.  The 
marble  Diana  yonder  looked  so  appallingly  life-like  that 
one  expected  every  moment  to  hear  the  arrow  whiz 
through  the  air!  The  moonlight  bathed  the  fruit  and 
flower  garlands  and  festoons  upon  the  walls,  lighted  up 
the  stony  eyes,  closed  lips,  and  heavily  burdened  caryat- 
ids, and  floated  upon  the  mirror  of  the  water  and  on  the 
enormous  glass  window-panes.  I  could  recognize  every 
individual  fold  of  the  faded  silk  drapery  behind  the  balcony 
door — the  moon  was  gliding  now  with  silvery  beams  within 
that  secret  chamber — but  the  lamp  in  that  dreadful  fanatic's 
room  of  course  was  not  lighted. 

"The  man  that  lived  there,"  said  Charlotte,  pointing  to 
the  bel-eta$e,  "he  would  have  understood  my  brother  and 
me.  He  shook  off  the  dust  and  dirt  of  the  shop  connec- 
tion with  a  firm  and  decided  hand  and  stepped  boldly  into 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR,  185 

that  sphere  where  alone  he  could  breathe  the  life  that 
suited  him."  She  looked  fixedly  at  the  windows,  and 
shrugging  her  shoulders  continued:  "He  fell  from  that 
state,  no  doubt,  with  slashed  brains — but  what  then? 
He  had  nevertheless  compelled  the  haughty  and  exclusive 
'caste'  to  recognize  him.  He  had  become  their  equal  and 
trod  with  brilliancy  and  fame  the  path  which  they  so 
jealously  seek  to  keep  exclusively  their  own.  Moreover,  it 
is  all  one  whether  this  path  extended  over  ten  or  fifty 
years.  Willingly  would  I  die  early  if  only  I  could  thereby 
attain  a  twelve  months'  sojourn  in  high  society.  I  have 
tasted  what  it  means  to  spend  half  one's  youth  among  a 
set  of  haughty  ambitious  hearts,  and  to  bear  an  imposed 
and  plebeian  name  among  school-fellows  of  the  nobility 
who  turn  up  their  noses  at  one.  I  will  not  be  always 
looked  down  on — I  will  not." 

She  shook  her  clinched  hand  upward  and  paced  rapidly 
up  and  down,  while  her  breathing  seemed  to  grow  faster 
and  faster. 

"Uncle  Eric  knows  of  this  hidden  fire  within  my 
breast.  Dagobert  thinks,  feels,  and  suffers  just  as  I  do," 
she  continued,  pausing  in  her  walk,  "and  with  all  the  cit- 
like  pride  of  his  position  he  endeavors  to  suppress  it,  to 
stifle  it.  We  ought  to  seek  the  foundation  of  our  dignity 
in  ourselves,  and  not  in  outward  circumstances,  says  this 
great  philosopher.  Ridiculous!  That  first  properly 
roused  me.  I  feel  as  if  bound  to  the  martyr's  stake. 
The  bridle  galls  me  and  I  curse  the  evil  fate  which  brought 
the  young  eagles  into  the  crow's  nest.  And  whence  these 
ungovernable  feelings?"  she  demanded  as  she  paced  slowly 
on.  "They  have  been  there  since  I  drew  breath;  they 
must  be  in  the  blood  that  flows  through  my  veins.  It  is 
no  chimera,  that  consciousness  of  aristocratic  descent. 
Threads  may  be  woven  which  connect  one  being  with 
another,  which  unite  us  with  past  greatness,  even  when 
they  are  perceptible  no  more;  as  for  instance  in  this  case 
of  ourselves,  over  whose  real  birth  a  profound  silence,  an 
impenetrable  darkness  hangs." 

These  passionately  uttered  complaints  were  suddenly 
put  a  stop  to  and  ended  in  a  kind  of  stammer,  for  there, 
at  the  entrance  of  one  of  the  walks  into  the  wood  which 
we  had  just  passed  by,  stood  Herr  Claudius,  looking  at 
the  excited  girl  with  grave,  quiet  eyes. 


186  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"This  darkness  shall  be  cleared  up,  Charlotte,  I  promise 
it  to  you,"  he  said  as  quietly  as  though  the  violent  out- 
break had  been  directed  specially  at  him  and  he  was  reply- 
ing to  it.  "But  you  shall  only  hear  the  truth  when  you 
know  how  to  bear  it,  when  life  and  I" — here  he  pointed 
imperiously  toward  himself — "have  made  you  more  sen- 
sible. Now  go  back  to  the  house  and  get  Dorte  to  make 
you  a  glass  of  eau  sucree.  One  thing  more:  I  most  im- 
peratively forbid  you  to  take  these  moonlight  walks  in 
future  with  Friiulein  von  Sassen.  The  desire  of  'great- 
ness' is  infectious.  You  understand  me?" 

Extraordinary  to  relate,  this  girl  with  the  strong  mind 
did  not  find  a  word  of  reply.  Surprise  must  no  doubt 
have  paralyzed  her  for  the  moment  and  rendered  her 
powerless.  With  head  sullenly  erect  she  pressed  my  hand 
so  hard  that  I  very  nearly  screamed  aloud,  then  threw  it 
violently  from  her  and  disappeared  in  the  wood. 

I  was  now  alone  with  him.  Fear  and  oppression  seized 
my  heart,  but  I  would  not  let  him  see  I  was  afraid — not 
now,  at  all  events.  Goliath,  strong  as  he  was,  had  lost  his 
head  for  a  moment  and  fled,  but  David,  if  of  small  stature, 
bore  himself  the  braver.  I  walked  for  my  taste  far  too 
slowly  toward  the  Carolinenlust,  and  he  kept  beside  me, 
silent.  The  hall  was  brilliantly  illuminated;  the  corridor, 
too,  which  lay  behind  my  room,  was  lighted  up  every 
evening  by  Herr  Claudius'  desire  with  two  lamps.  At 
the  entrance  to  this  corridor,  a  step  of  which  I  had  already 
mounted,  he  stood  still. 

"You  left  me  this  afternoon  in  ill-humor,"  he  said. 
"Give  me  your  hand.  I  had  rather  not  make  such  un- 
pleasant experiences  as  Heinz  with  the  wicked  raven." 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  to  me.  Through  the  door 
of  the  corridor  the  lamplight,  shining  through  a  ruby- 
colored  glass  window,  threw  a  red  reflection  on  his  long 
white  fingers,  and  the  diamond  ring  threw  out  the  most 
dazzling  rays.  I  shuddered. 

"It  is  full  of  blood !"  I  cried  horrified  and  knocking  his 
hand  away. 

He  drew  back  and  looked  at  me.  Never  to  my  dying 
day  shall  I  forget  the  glance  that  then  met  mine.  Never 
yet  had  a  human  eye  regarded  me  thus — never!  He 
turned  away  and  left  the  house  without  uttering  one  word. 

Involuntarily  I  put  my  hand  to  my  heart  as  though  I 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  1^7 

had  been  stabbed  by  a  dagger.  What  pain  I  felt!  It  was 
remorse,  deep  remorse!  I  rushed  down  the  stairs  into 
the  open  air.  I  wished  to  give  him  the  hand  he  had  asked 
for  and  beg  of  him  not  to  be  angry.  But  the  gravel  walk 
was  empty,  and  I  did  not  even  hear  the  sound  of  retreat- 
ing footsteps.  Herr  Claudius  must  have  gone  by  the  soft 
woodpath. 

Deeply  cast  down,  I  at  last  sought  Use.  Her  ever- 
watchful  and  sharp  eyes  at  once  noticed  the  drops  on  my 
eyelashes,  but  I  told  her  that  that  abominable  blood-red 
glass  in  the  corridor  was  the  cause  of  it,  and  that  it  would 
have  been  far  better  if  Darling  had  broken  it  instead  of 
the  greenhouse. 


XXII. 

THIS  evening  was  succeeded  by  many  days  of  an  anxiety 
such  as  I  experienced  for  the  first  time  in  my  life — anxiety 
about  a  sick  father.  He  suffered  so  frightfully  from  head- 
ache that  for  three  whole  days  he  was  unable  to  go  up  to 
his  beloved  library.  The  wild  bee  which  could  never  bear 
to  pass  one  half-hour  in  the  Dierkhof  rooms  during  sunny 
weather  now  sat  from  early  morning  till  late  at  night  at 
the  feet  of  the  sufferer,  listening  anxiously  to  every  move- 
ment and  to  every  sound  that  came  from  his  lips.  The 
yearning  for  a  sight  of  the  August  sky  outside  never  once 
assailed  me.  Sunbeams,  too,  floated  every  now  and  then 
through  the  darkened  chamber,  and  that  was  when  I  sat 
on  the  side  of  the  bed  and  was  permitted  to  lay  one  of  my 
cool  hands  alternately  on  the  invalid's  burning  forehead, 
when,  faintly  smiling,  he  would  whisper  to  Use  how  little 
he  had  thought  what  a  blessing  it  was  to  have  a  child. 
Since  the  death  of  my  mother  he  had  always  felt  on  the 
recurrence  of  his  old  malady — he  suffered  periodically 
from  these  headaches — doubly  desolate  ana  ill,  because 
there  was  no  careful  hand,  no  eye  with  tender  forethought 
around  him.  He  would  now  lament  with  tenfold  regret 
the  many  years  father  and  daugther  had  been  separated  as 
a  great  and  irreparable  loss. 

The  duke's  private  physician  visited  my  father  fre- 
quently. Every  day  a  footman  came  twice  to  inquire 
after  the  state  of  the  invalid  and  to  bring  him  refresh- 


188  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

ments.  In  fact,  Use's  hands  were  full,  and  she  had  more 
than  enough  to  do  to  reply  to  the  innumerable  anxious 
inquiries  which  poured  in  from  every  quarter.  In  the 
front  house,  too,  no  little  sympathy  was  shown.  Fraulein 
Fliedner  came  herself  every  morning  to  make  personal 
inquiries  and  put  the  whole  house  and  its  occupants  at 
our  disposal.  Charlotte,  too,  came  one  evening  to  spend 
half  an  hour  with  me,  to  comfort  "the  little  one"  in  her 
"anxiety,"  as  she  said.  But  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  she 
stood  far  more  in  need  of  external  cheering  than  I  did. 
Something  dark  and  gloomy  lay  brooding  over  the  heavy 
brows,  and  the  hitherto  proud  and  careless  assurance  of 
her  bearing  was  now  replaced  by  a  fidgety  nervousness. 
She  never  alluded  to  the  meeting  with  her  uncle  in  the 
wood  by  a  single  syllable,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  she  gave 
me  a  lively  description  of  the  impending  storm  which 
threatened  the  front  dwelling  every  moment.  Herr 
Claudius  was  carrying  out  with  a  high  hand  his  resolution 
of  cleansing  his  house  and  business  premises  from  the 
hypocrisy  which  had  crept  into  it.  He  had  magnani- 
mously left  the  collections  already  made  from  the  work- 
people toward  the  missionary  box  in  the  bookkeeper's 
hands,  but  had  replaced  an  equal  sum  from  his  own  means 
as  a  fund  in  a  newly  established  money-box  erected  by 
him  for  the  purpose  of  forwarding  the  erection  of  a  Eeal- 
schule*  for  the  sons  of  the  work-people  and  to  lighten  the 
expenses  of  the  marriage  portions  for  the  daughters  of  the 
poor.  The  young  clerk  who,  from  a  service  of  love,  had 
subscribed  to  the  mission  box  far  beyond  his  means,  had 
received  a  severe  reprimand  and  a  threat  that  any  relapse 
into  such  hypocrisy  would  be  followed  by  his  dismissal. 
The  bookkeeper  was  of  course  going  about  with  a  face  of 
fixed  and  inexpressible  ill-humor — that  I  knew  already, 
for  I  had  seen  him  several  times,  through  a  split  in  the 
blind,  walking  round  the  pond  in  company  with  the 
brother  and  sister.  The  bond  between  these  three  indi- 
viduals appeared  through  these  new  circumstances  to  have 
been  drawn  still  closer;  the  walks  together  in  the  wood 
testified  to  that. 

As  often  as  Charlotte  mentioned  Herr  Claudius'  name  I 
felt  a  slight  pang  within  me,  but  the  torments  of  remorse 

*  Academy. 


TSE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOO&,  l£9 

and  self-reproach  had  considerably  abated  since  I  had 
repeatedly  reminded  myself  of  the  irritating  fact  that  the 
origin  of  my  father's  illness  lay  in  the  excitement  from 
which  he  had  suffered  about  the  purchase  of  the  medal. 
The  admirable  and  sharp  logic  of  my  seventeen-year-old 
head  laid  the  whole  blame  on  the  hard-hearted  refuser  of 
the  one  remedy,  and  so  we  were  quits! 

Now,  however,  the  evil  days  were  past.  The  windows 
of  the  sick-chamber  stood  wide  open,  air  and  sun  streamed 
in  again,  and  Use  was  dusting  and  scrubbing  as  if  the 
whole  sand  of  the  desert  had  been  poured  out  there.  I 
had  accompanied  my  father  on  his  first  visit  to  the  library, 
boiled  his  coffee  for  the  afternoon  in  the  machine  up 
there,  drawn  the  green  curtain  partially,  just  as  he  liked 
it,  and  wrapped  a  wadded  quilt  round  his  limbs.  I  knew 
he  had  been  well  attended  to  and  that  he  was  calmly 
happy  at  being  once  more  able  to  resume  his  labor.  Now 
and  then  I  flew  away  like  an  arrow  from  the  bow.  Now  I 
began  to  value  the  delicious  wood  sward,  the  refreshing 
shade  underneath  the  millions  of  interwoven  boughs. 
The  sun  hung  like  a  dazzling  globe  of  fire  over  the  garden. 
It  looked  just  as  if  it  longed  to  drink  up  all  the  blue  water 
of  the  pond,  which  was  lying  dead  and  lazy  within  its 
stone  circlet. 

I  turned  into  the  path  which  I  had  not  trodden  since 
the  previous  Sunday  and  crept  into  the  thicket.  There 
stood  Gretchen's  little  basket  carriage,  still  filled  with  the 
half-crushed,  half -decayed  strawberries.  Nobody  had 
asked  to  get  it  back  again;  possibly  the  old  gardener 
Schafer  had  looked  for  it,  but  had  been  unable  to  find  it. 
How  sorry  I  felt  for  the  poor  child,  who  no  doubt  mourned 
over  the  lost  toy.  Her  parents  were  poor,  so  poor  that 
their  mother's  hands  bore  the  signs  of  toil,  and  she  was 
very  probably  unable  to  supply  the  loss. 

Although  Herr  Claudius  had  not  spoken  a  word  of 
direction  to  me  individually  in  the  late  scene,  he  had  not- 
withstanding placed  a  perpetual  bar  to  any  repetition  of 
such  an  offense — at  least  so  I  fancied — when  he  took  out 
the  key  and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  Nevertheless  I  made  at 
once  for  the  garden  door.  Lo  and  behold,  what  did  I  see 
but  a  new  lock  before  me!  a  strong,  solid  lock,  without  a 
key.  The  bolts  and  bars  were  also  quite  new.  Dear  me! 
what  an  amount  of  respect  must  they  have  for  the  power- 


190  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

ful  little  hand  that  they  had  thus,  as  it  were,  set  the  gate 
anew  in  iron ! 

I  clambered  np  the  elm  tree,  but  on  this  occasion  it  was 
no  joke.  I  had  what  they  termed  my  lace  things  upon 
my  feet  and  had  slipped  my  elegantly  attired  limbs  into 
the  old  haide  shoes.  Oh,  what  a  world  too  wide  they  were 
for  me!  Every  moment  they  threatened  to  part  company 
with  me  and  to  stay  behind  in  the  thicket. 

At  last,  however,  I  sat  perched  on  the  very  top  of  the 
elm.  A  child's  little  carriage  stood  on  the  balcony  of  the 
Swiss  cottage,  completely  shaded  by  the  wild  vine  (Vir- 
ginian creeper).  Little  Hermann  was  lying  in  it  on  white 
cushions,  very  lazy,  but  also  very  content.  Near  him  stood 
Gretchen  munching  a  large  piece  of  bread-and-butter, 
chattering  between  whiles  to  her  little  brother.  In  the 
room  within  I  could  see  their  mamma  ironing  and  coming 
every  now  and  then  to  the  door  with  a  flushed  face  to  look 
after  the  children. 

Who  could  have  thought,  looking  at  the  soft  womanly 
face  before  me,  that  such  a  storm  as  that  I  had  seen  pass 
over  it  on  Sunday  last  was  possible?  At  this  moment 
there  remained  as  little  trace  of  it  in  the  smiling  features 
as  there  appeared  any  complaint  on  Gretchen's  part  over 
her  lost  carriage.  But  I  was  determined  the  child  should 
have  it  again  without  further  delay.  I  intended  to  fill  it 
with  fresh  strawberries  and  flowers  and  to  beg  the  old 
gardener  to  carry  it  back.  I  left  the  top  of  the  tree  and 
began  to  swing  myself  down  from  one  bough  to  another, 
when  I  heard  people  all  at  once  approaching  from  the 
Carolinenlust.  They  must  have  been  very  near  me 
already,  for  I  shrank  back  in  terror  at  the  sound  of  the 
old  bookkeeper's  voice,  which  sounded  to  me  as  if  he 
were  standing  already  at  the  foot  of  the  elm  tree.  I  did 
not  again  reach  the  top  of  the  tree  without  some  consider- 
able noise  from  my  heavy  incumbrances,  but  I  clasped 
the  trunk  with  my  arms  and  sat  perfectly  still,  hoping 
that  the  storm  would  blow  over  quickly,  for  I  was  sitting 
on  a  very  slender  bough,  and  listened  with  a  beating  heart 
to  what  passed  below. 

The  first  thing  I  saw  through  the  leafy  canopy  was  Char- 
lotte's purple  velvet  bow,  which  she  generally  wore  in  her 
hair,  and  where  Charlotte  was,  there  of  course  was  Dago- 
bert.  The  brother  and  sister  had  fled  once  more  from  the 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  191 

sultry  and  storm-threatening  atmosphere  of  the  house. 
They  were  miserable  and  needed  comforting,  but  it  affected 
me  painfully  all  the  same  to  see  that  they  turned  to  this 
disagreeable  old  man  in  their  necessity. 

The  wanderers  turned  into  a  path  close  to  my  place  of 
concealment.  Eckhof  lowered  his  voice  perceptibly,  but 
his  fine,  clear  intonation  enabled  me  notwithstanding  to 
Catch  quite  distinctly  every  word  he  uttered.  He  held  his 
hat  in  his  hand.  The  snow-white  partition  of  his  hair 
shone  clearly,  but  his  appearance  otherwise  indicated  an 
unwonted  gloom.  The  grim  and  imbittered  expression  of 
countenance  showed  innumerable  folds  and  wrinkles  in 
the  usually  smooth,  one  might  almost  say  conceitedly 
tended  face. 

"For  heaven's  sake,  hold  your  tongue  with  your  conso- 
lations," he  exclaimed,  standing  still,  but  not  very  politely. 
"The  consequences  cannot  be  calculated!  Neither  of  you 
can  be  judges  of  it,  since  neither  of  you  know  what  an 
immense  step  it  was  to  gain  over  the  house  of  Claudius 
with  its  many  dependents  to  our  ranks.  That  had  pro- 
duced an  immense  effect  and  brought  back  many  a  weak 
one  and  many  a  waverer  in4o  the  Church  once  more. 
And  now  the  edifice  raised  with  so  much  toil  is  all  at  once 
and  with  such  eclat,  such  mercilessness,  thrown  to  the 
ground." 

"Uncle  is  cutting  off  his  nose  to  spite  his  face,"  said 
Dagobert  coldly.  "The  powerful  and  wealthy  have  no 
better  ally  and  protection  than  the  Church  against  the 
multitude  of  those  who  make  a  stand  against  them.  Did 
I  but  possess  wealth  and  power,  your  party  would  be  the 
richer  by  one,  at  all  events,  and  that  an  earnest  partisan. 
I  understand  the  times  and  belong  to  those  who  steadfastly 
oppose  the  giddy  whirl  which  they  call  progress." 

"With  regard  to  the  Church,  Fraulein  Charlotte  holds 
quite  different  opinions  from  yours,"  said  Eckhof,  his 
fiery  eye  resting  piercingly  on  the  young  girl's  face. 

"Yes,  our  views  differ  widely  on  that  point,"  she  replied 
candidly.  "If  I  possessed  money  I  should  look  upon  it 
solely  in  the  light  of  its  supplying  me  with  the  means  of 
solving  the  disgraceful  and  depressing  mystery  which 
hangs  over  our  family's  past  history.  I  do  not  want  to 
eat  the  crumbs  which  are  thrown  to  me  any  longer,  because 
I  feel  and  know  distinctly  that  it  is  unworthy  of  me,  that 


192  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

in  future  days  I  shall  probably  feel  ashamed  of  having 
done  so.  From  this  time  forward  I  will  scrape  and  save." 

"Fraulein  Charlotte  save?"  broke  in  Eckhof  with  sar- 
castic incredulity. 

"I  tell  you,"  she  continued  vehemently,  "I  would  go 
about  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  only  to  obtain  sufficient 
means  to  make  a  journey  of  inquiry  to  Paris." 

"And  what  if  it  were  unnecessary  to  go  so  far  to  solve 
the  mystery?" 

Every  one  of  these  words  fell  heavily  like  sounding 
brass  in  my  ears  and  on  my  nerves.  The  man  that  uttered 
them  with  such  weight  and  solemnity  stood  there  aa  if  he 
had  with  one  single  decisive  step  forever  freed  himself 
from  a  heavy  inward  struggle.  "Come  with  me,"  said 
he  abruptly  and  imperiously  to  the  young  lady,  who  fol- 
lowed him  mechanically  and  in  silence.  He  seated  him- 
self on  the  bench  where  I  had  sat  and  sung  the  previous 
Sunday,  and  which  was  situated  in  a  slanting  direction 
opposite  to  my  present  hiding-place. 

Oh  misery,  wnat  a  dreadful  position  I  had  got  into!  In 
mortal  terror  I  still  clung  to  the  elm's  trunk,  but  half- 
swinging  in  the  air.  I  was  afraid  my  weight  might  break 
the  fragile  bough  on  which  I  rested,  and  in  addition  to 
this  my  unfortunate  shoes  seemed  to  find  a  pleasure  in 
gradually,  but  none  the  less  inevitably,  slipping  off  my 
feet,  which  were  helping  to  support  me  on  the  tree.  The 
consequences  would  nave  been  frightful.  Think,  if  such 
a  monster  had  suddenly  tumbled  down,  what  an  occasion 
for  Dagobert,  and  what  a  splendid  opportunity  for  my 
enemy  to  deliver  to  me  an  overwhelmingly  severe  lecture! 

"I  am  going  to  relate  a  history  to  you,"  said  the  book- 
keeper to  the  brother  and  sister,  who  had  sat  down  beside 
him.  "But  first  listen  to  a  plain  explanation.  \Vhat 
you  are  now  about  to  learn  does  not  proceed  from  any 
attachment  to  you  on  my  part — it  would  be  a  lie  were  I 
to  say  so.  Nor  am  I  speaking  from  motives  of  revenge; 
but  at  this  particular  moment  you  must  look  upon  me  not 
as  the  individual  Eckhof,  but  as  a  soldier  to  whom  no 
choice  is  left — when  he  must  make  one  between  men's 
earthly  interests,  were  it  even  those  of  his  own  family,  of 
his  own  flesh  and  blood,  and  the  good  of  the  Church." 

And  it  was  this  blind  fanaticism  which  actually  and 
truly  inspired  Eckhof;  he  was  in  the  deepest  earnest  in 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  193 

what  he  said.  One  could  not  fail  to  observe  it  in  the 
glitter  of  his  eyes  as  he  raised  them  for  a  moment,  seeking 
the  light  of  heaven  through  the  leafy  canopy  that  shrouded 
him. 

"You  have  repeatedly  assured  me/'  he  said  to  Dagobert, 
"that  once  in  possession  of  wealth  and  a  distinguished 
name  you  would  immediately  join  our  party." 

"I  repeat  it  solemnly  again,  I  could  not  put  either 
under  better  protection.  Thousands  would  not  seem  to 
me  too  much." 

Eckhof  nodded  his  head.  \ 

"It  will  be  looked  upon  as  some  atonement  for  the 
many  sins  that  were  committed  in  secret,  and  the  chastise- 
ment will  at  last  be  removed  from  those  unhappy  souls 
who  have  hitherto  been  doomed  to  wander  about  without 
rest,"  he  said  pathetically.  "These  evils  all  arose, 
properly  speaking,  from  a  merchant's  son  having  despised 
that  station  of  life  where  God  had  placed  him  and  chosen 
instead  the  military  profession.  He  was  a  very  fine-look- 
ing young  man  and  understood  all  those  arts  which  attract 
mankind,  so  the  duke  ennobled  him  and  kept  him  con- 
tinually at  his  side.  A  dissolute  life  was  that  which  they 
led  over  there  in  those  days,  though  it  is  from  thence  that 
purity,  uprighteonsness,  and  the  fear  of  God  ought  to  flow 
forth  over  all  the  land.  The  duke  was  of  a  joyous  dis- 
position, and  so  was  the  duchess  his  wife,  as  well  as  his 
youthful  sisters,  the  Princesses  Sidonie  and  Margaret,  who 
were  not  unlike  the  daughters  of  Herod.  They  had  their 
own  way  to  a  great  extent,  for  the  duke  loved  them, 
dearly;  and  they  might  have  asked  him  for  anything  save 
only  his  consent  to  a  mesalliance,  for  he  was  proud  of  his 
princely  blood.  The  two  beautiful  sisters  traveled  here 
and  there  just  as  they  pleased.  Princess  Margaret  resided 
more  at  the  court  at  L.  than  at  home,  but  her  elder  sister 
had  a  strong  predilection  in  favor  of  Paris  and  Switzer- 
land. She  often  went  away  for  two  and  even  three 
months  at  a  time,  observing  of  course  the  strictest  incog- 
nito, and  under  the  care  of  an  old  and  highly  respectable 
lady  in  waiting  and  a  cavalier  equally  advanced  in  years. 
The  good  people  are  long  since  dead." 

Here  he  paused  a  moment  and  stroked  his  chin,  while 
I  sat  poised  upon  the  bough  in  utter  despair.  The  soles 
of  my  feet  were  cramped  together  in  order  to  keep  my 


194  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

shoes  from  falling  off,  and  my  temples  -were  beating 
violently  with  the  efforts  I  made,  for  I  did  not  even  ven- 
ture to  take  a  long  breath.  And  this  man's  narrative 
promised  to  be  so  extended  I  could  see  no  prospect  of  an 
end.  At  last  he  began  again : 

"It  was  a  very  singular  circumstance,  however,  that 
whenever  the  Princess  Sidonie  went  to  Switzerland 
another  very  beautiful  young  lady  was  sure  to  make  her 
appearance  in  the  Carolinenlust.  She  had  precisely  the 
same  black  curls,  precisely  the  same  slight  form,  and  was 
altogether  her  very  image.  On  these  occasions  the  bridge 
leading  to  the  front  garden  was  locked  even  more  closely 
than  usual,  if  possible,  and  along  the  bank  of  the  river  on 
the  side  next  the  Carolineulust  a  strong  paling  was  erected, 
which  after  Lothar's  death  was,  of  course,  allowed  to  fall 
into  decay.  But  one  person  enjoyed  the  honor  of  passing 
from  the  front  residence  over  the  bridge  without  restriction 
back  and  forward,  and  that  was  Fraulein  Fliedner.  She 
had  actually  a  key  of  her  own,  which  she  generally  used 
in  the  evenings  or  even  late  at  night  for  this  purpose.  If 
you  ask  me  how  I  come  to  know  all  this,  I  can  only  tell 
you  that  my  late  wife  related  it  to  me.  She  never,  in- 
deed, had  any  share  in  these  dark  doings — to  her  honor  be 
it  said — but  female  ears  and  eyes  are  keen  and  quick,  and 
when  female  curiosity  is  once  excited  women  think  little 
of  wet  feet,  but  are  sure  to  find  a  spot  in  the  river  where 
they  can  slip  through." 

"Aha,  the  good  lady  listened  too,"  thought  I,  to  my 
great  satisfaction,  and  forgetting  for  a  moment  the  danger 
of  my  position. 

"That  was  a  life  such  as  turtle-doves  lead.  A  magnifi- 
cent voice  used  to  sing  the  most  beautiful  songs,  and  late 
in  the  quiet  night  the  young  officer's  epaulettes  could  be 
seen  gleaming  and  glittering  in  the  moonlight  on  the 
meadow  yonder,  while  the  fair  slight  lady  hung  upon  his 
arm.  Once,  however,  Fraulein  Fliodner  hurried  over  the 
bridge  without  any  apparent  caution.  Lights  were  seen 
glancing  to  and  fro  in  the  windows  ef  the  Carolinenlust 
ard  at  midnight  an  infant's  cry  was  heard." 

Charlotte  jumped  up  with  open  mouth,  as  though  she 
were  gasping  for  breath.  Her  sparkling  eyes  were  fixed 
devouringly  on  the  narrator's  face. 

"For  several  years  successively  the  lady's  presence  at 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  '  195 

the  Carolinenlust  was  noticed.  The  scene  I  have  just 
described  was  repeated  once  more  at  a  later  date,"  said 
Eckhof,  continuing,  "and  then  the  gay,  light-minded 
Princess  Sidonie  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy  at  one  of  the 
baths,  and  the  handsome  Lothar,  who  was  just  then  with 
the  duke  at  Vienna,  three  days  later  sent  a  bullet  through 
his  own  head.  Herr  Claudius  came  here  some  days  after 
the  dreadful  catastrophe;  he  had  visited  Vienna  on  his 
way  and  had  met  Lothar  there.  The  two  brothers,  who 
had  met  so  seldom,  were  much  drawn  to  each  other  on 
this  occasion — that  I  have  from  Eric's  own  lips.  The  first 
time  I  was  permitted  to  go  in  to  speak  to  him  I  could  not 
forbear  from  touching  on  the  occurrences  which  had  taken 
place  at  the  Carolinenlust.  He  looked  haughtily  and  dis- 
pleased at  me,  and  said,  pointing  to  Lothar's  pocket-book, 
'My  brother  lived  in  honorable  matrimony  with  his  wife; 
the  certificates  are  there.'  Days  after  he  had  legal  men 
there  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  deceased.  I 
stood  outside  in  the  corridor  with  them  while  he  once 
more  went  round  the  rooms  where  his  brother  had  lived. 
I  saw  him  lay  the  pocket-book  into  a  writing-table  drawer 
and  lock  it.  Then  he  made  the  rounds  of  all  the  rooms 
yet  again,  which  we  were  not  allowed  to  enter.  He  shook 
the  windows,  closed  the  doors,  and  three  minutes  afterward 
the  legal  seals  were  on  them.  The  two  children  born  in 
the  Carolinenlust  were " 

"Quiet!  quiet — not  another  word!  Don't  say  it!" 
said  Charlotte,  springing  up.  "Don't  you  know  I  shall  go 
mad,  that  I  must  die  if  this — were  I  to  believe  this  won- 
drous story,  even  if  only  for  one  hour  long,  and  then  must 
afterward  say  to  myself,  'It  is  not  true,  it  was  but  the 
silly  imagination  of  a  woman  long  dead?'  " 

She  pressed  her  hands  to  her  temples  and  paced  up  and 
down. 

"Calm  yourself  and  keep  your  head,"  warned  Eckhof, 
rising  and  seizing  hold  of  the  young  girl's  arm.  "I  only 
ask  you  one  question:  if  not  the  children  of  Lothar  and 
the  Princess  Sidonie,  whose  children  then  are  you?" 

Dear  me!  Charlotte  the  daughter  of  a  princess!  I  was 
within  an  ace  of  falling  from  my  perch.  Now  all  was 
right — all.  How  unmistakably  had  the  princely  blood  in 
their  veins  made  itself  felt!  I  could  have  shouted  for  joy 
if  it  hadn't  been  for  the  frightful  torture  of  my  feet  and 


196  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

that  I  felt  the  necessity  of  saving  up  the  remainder  of  my 
strength  to  enable  me  to  keep  quite  quiet.  What  would 
have  become  of  me  if  the  grim  old  man  had  discovered 
me  now,  after  his  confessions,  on  my  involuntary  perch  as 
a  listener? 

"How  should  it  have  occurred  to  Herr  Claudius,"  he 
continued,  "to  educate  and  even  adopt  the  children  of 
utter  strangers  and  of  another  nation  too?  You  see,  your 
lawful  property,  the  inheritance  of  his  brother,  he  does 
not  deprive  you  of — he  is  too  just  for  that.  He  goes  even 
further :  by  not  marrying  he  secures  you  his  own  fortune 
also.  He  will  take  care  that  your  pecuniary  circum- 
stances are  brilliant,  though  perhaps  not  till  after  his 
death :  until  then  he  will  keep  you  in  leading-strings.  But 
your  real  name  he  will  withhold  from  you  forever,  because 
he  does  not  wish  the  new  sprig  of  nobility  to  continue.  I 
know  him  well;  he  has 'the  same  unbending  pride  of  all 
the  Claudius  family.  But  calm  yourself  now  for  the  pres- 
ent," said  Eckhof  impatiently,  "and  collect  your  earliest 
recollections." 

"I  remember  nothing — nothing,"  stammered  Char- 
lotte, putting  her  hand  to  her  forehead.  The  girl's  strong 
mind  gave  way  beneath  the  weight  of  joy. 

"Charlotte,  collect  yourself,"  exclaimed  Dagobert,  too. 
Outwardly  he  seemed  far  more  tranquil  than  his  sister, 
but  he  seemed  to  me  suddenly  taller,  so  proudly  did  he 
hold  himself,  and  in  his  dark  flushed  face  lay  an  expres- 
sion which  intimidated  me.  "Her  recollections  must  in 
any  case  be  very  scant,"  he  said  to  the  bookkeeper,  "for 
she  was  very  little  when  our  mode  of  life  changed;  indeed, 
I  know  very  little  more  myself.  We  did  not  spend  our 
infancy  in  Paris  itself,  but  in  a  small  place  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  town,  with  Madam  Godin — you  know  that  already. 
I  remember  that  my  father  used  to  let  me  ride  on  his 
knee,  but  for  my  life  I  cannot  recall  what  he  looked  like. 
I  only  know  that  his  appearance  was  bright  and  dazzling. 
We  were  told  once  that  he  was  an  officer.  Mamma  I  saw 
very  seldom — my  dearest  remembrance  of  her  was  on  one 
afternoon.  Mamma  drove  out  with  Uncle  Eric  and  one 
other  gentleman.  They  took  coffee  in  the  garden  saloon, 
and  Uncle  Eric  chased  me  over  the  fields,  threw  me  up  in 
the  air,  and  carried  Charlotte  whole  hours  in  his  arms. 
He  was  quite  different  then  to  what  he  is  now;  his  face 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  197 

was  handsome  and  fresh-colored  and  his  movements  were 
all  quick  and  bright.  He  could  not  have  been  more  than 
twenty  at  that  time?" 

"He  was  twenty-one  exactly  when  he  left  Paris  forever," 
said  the  old  man,  with  an  increasedly  gloomy  aspect. 

"Mamma  seated  herself  at  the  piano,"  continued  Dago- 
bert,  "and  all  the  people  cried  out  imploringly:  'The 
Tarantella,  the  Tarantella!'  And  then  she  sang  so  that 
the  very  walls  trembled,  and  everybody  went  mad,  and  I 
with  them.  Madam  Godin  was  often  compelled  to  sing 
the  same  song  again  for  me,  in  her  weak  old  voice,  when 
she  wanted  to  coax  me  to  be  good  and  tractable,  and  never 
shall  I  forget  that  'Oia  la  luna  ein  mezzo  al  mare,  mamma 
mia  si  saltera !'  My  mother's  face  I  cannot,  with  the  best 
will  in  the  world,  recall.  With  the  exception  of  the  song, 
Uncle  Eric  played  the  chief  part  for  me  that  afternoon. 
If  you  were  to  show  me  all  the  female  portraits  in  the 
world  I  could  not  pick  my  mother  out.  I  only  remember 
that  she  was  very  tall  and"  slight  and  wore  long  black  curls 
hanging  down  her  shoulders.  Perhaps  I  might  have  for- 
gotten that  too  if  mamma  hadn't  scolded  me  many  a  time 
for  disarranging  them  with  my  wild  caress.  After  this 
visit  Uncle  Eric  used  often  to  come  alone;  he  used  to  spoil 
us  then  completely — quite  different  from  nowadays. 
Then,  all  at  once,  he  ceased  to  come  for  a  long  time,  till 
one  day  he  arrived  suddenly  and  took  me  away  from 
Madam  Godin  and  Charlotte.  That  is  all  that  I  can  tell 
you." 

"It  is  quite  sufficient,"  said  Eckhof.  "Herr  Claudius 
may  have  been  a  partaker  of  the  secret  before  and  accom- 
panied his  brother  and  sister-in-law  to  see  their  children. 
The  princess  almost  always  went  to  Paris,  when  the  duke 
traveled  accompanied  by  his  adjutant."  He  linked  his 
arm  in  that  of  the  young  officer.  "Now,"  we  must 
observe  the  greatest  caution  and  make  further  inquiries  if 
we  wish  to  attain  onr  common  object,"  said  he,  strolling 
away  with  Dagobert  into  the  wood.  "From  Fraulein 
Fliedner,  the  only  person  in  possession  of  the  facts,  you 
will  of  course  never  glean  the  smallest  information;  no 
doubt  she  would  be  hewn  in  pieces  first.  How  innocent 
and  harmless  she  can  appear,  can't  she? — the  old  cat! 
The  court  lady,  the  traveling  cavalier,  and  the  princess' 
own  physician,  who  also  had  access  to  the  Carolinenlust 
at  that  time,  are  all  dead." 


?BE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


"And  Madam  Godin,  too  —  years  ago,"  added  Dagobert 
drearily. 

"Only  courage  —  we  do  not  lack  that;  we  will  find  ways 
and  means,"  said  Eckhof  resolutely.  "But  as  already 
said,  all  rashness  must  be  guarded  against,  even  should 
years  pass  by  meantime." 

They  went  on  further.  Charlotte  did  not  accompany 
them.  When  she  suddenly  found  herself  alone  she  threw 
up  her  arms  into  the  air  and  uttered  something  between  a 
sob  and  a  laugh.  I  was  unable  to  distinguish  whether  it 
were  the  half-inarticulate  expression  of  a  frantic  and 
indescribable  joy  or  —  insanity.  Exactly  thus  had  I  seen 
my  grandmother  standing  at  the  well.  Terrified,  I 
stooped  down  —  pitter,  patter,  down  went  one  of  my  shoes: 
the  little  nailed  monster  rustled  down  through  the  bushes 
with  such  vehemence  that  it  sounded  almost  like  the  shot 
of  a  pistol.  Charlotte  uttered  a  half-smothered  cry. 

"Be  quiet,  for  pity's  sake,"  I  called  out,  gliding  down 
from  the  tree  and  running  toward  her.  / 

"Ill-fated  child,  you  have  been  listening!"  came  be- 
tween my  fingers  from  her  lips.  I  had  covered  them  with 
my  hand.  She  shook  it  off  with  an  angry  gesture  and 
scanned  me  with  an  irritated  glance. 

"Listening?"  I  repeated,  deeply  offended.  "Can  I 
help  it  if  you  choose  to  come  walking  under  the  tree  I  am 
seated  on?  Can  I  call  out,  'Don't  come  here  if  you  have 
any  secret  to  tell  each  other,  for  I  am  perched  up  here  and 
won't  be  seen  at  any  price  by  that  old  man  who  is  always 
tormenting  me  in  his  anger?'  And  why,  may  I  ask, 
should  I  be  an  ill-fated  child'?  I  am  delighted  —  delighted 
beyond  expression,  Fraulein  Charlotte.  Now  all  is  well. 
Now  you  have  a  right  to  be  proud.  Only  think,  the 
Princess  Margaret  is  your  aunt!" 

"Heavens!  do  you  want  to  kill  me?"  she  cried,  shaking 
me  so  violently  by  the  shoulder  that  I  swayed  about  like 
thistle-down.  Suddenly  she  let  go  her  hold  and  began 
again  pacing  up  and  down  with  rapid  strides. 

"Don't  believe  it  —  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it,"  she 
said,  apparently  calmer  after  a  long  pause,  during  which 
she  seemed  to  struggle  for  breath.  "The  old  man  yonder 
has  grown  childish  —  he  has  been  dreaming  of  those  times, 
and  now  he  fancies  that  a  woman  long  since  dead  told  him 
that  fairy-tale.  The  matter  receives  some  slight  air  of  prob- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  199 

ability  from  the  fact  of  Uncle  Eric  having  adopted  us. 
Up  to  this  nobody  has  been  able  to  divine  his  reason  for  so 
doing,  and  I  maintain  that  it  never  was  from  motives  of 
humanity.  Nothing  but  an  inspection  of  the  Carolinen- 
lust  could  convince  me  what  amount  of  truth  there  may 
be  in  the  old  man's  story — how  far  it  really  rests  on  facts. 
I  find  it  impossible  to  believe  that  the  haughty  princess — 
and  our  whole  ducal  house  is  filled  with  the  greatest  and 
most  evident  pride — lived  secretly  married  in  the  Carolin- 
enlust.  I  would  swear  that  were  the  seals  removed  this 
very  day  from  the  doors,  nothing  whatever  would  be  found 
within  but  the  household  appointments  of  young  boon 
companions,  the  home  of  a  youthful  bachelor." 

"Don't  swear,  Fraulein  Charlotte,"  I  said  in  a  whisper. 
I  really  felt  like  one  bewitched  and  as  if  my  brains 
were  turned  inside  out.  "A  lady's  silk  mantle  is  hanging 
up  in  one  of  those  rooms,  and  sheets  of  paper  with 
'Sidonie,  Princess  of  K.'on  them  are  lying  on  the  writing- 
table.  It  must  have  been  written  by  her  own  hand,  for 
neither  my  father's  writing  nor  yet  Herr  Claudius'  are 
anything  like  so  delicate.  I  think  only  a  woman  writes 
like  that." 

Charlotte  stared  at  me. 

"You  have  been  inside — behind  the  seals?" 

"Yes,  I  have  been  inside,"  I  replied  at  once,  though 
with  downcast  eyes;  "I  know  a  way  and  will  take  you  up 
to  the  rooms  also — but-  not  till  Use  goes  away." 

The  moment  I  mentioned  Use's  name  an  indescribable 
feeling  of  anguish  came  over  me.  I  felt  as  though  she 
were  standing  near  me  with  uplifted  finger  in  an  attitude 
of  warning,  as  if  I  had  done  something  very  wrong  which 
could  never  again  be  undone.  Neither  did  it  afford  me 
the  smallest  comfort  or  consolation  that  Charlotte  suddenly 
clasped  me  passionately  in  her  arms  and  with  a  frantic 
outburst  of  joy  pressed  me  to  her  heart.  Had  I  not  given 
up  my  good  old  Use  for  her? 


XXIII. 


ILSE'S  activity  was  called  into  greater  request  than  ever 
during  the  next  few  days.  She  had  discovered  two  locked- 
up  chests  among  my  father's  goods  containing  house  linen, 


200  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

and  which,  from  the  time  of  my  mother's  death,  had 
never  seen  the  light.  This  gave  rise  to  many  a  severe 
remark  on  the  extraordinary  man  upstairs,  who  had  all 
that  broken  trash  unpacked  as  carefully  as  if  it  was  made 
of  sugar,  while  he  allowed  the  finest  table-cloths  and  sheets 
to  rot  away.  Her  face,  however,  assumed  a  more  cheer- 
ful aspect  as  she  saw  the  deep  discoloring  of  time  gradually 
give  way  to  spotless  snow-white  beneath  her  busy  hands, 
ably  assisted  as  they  were  by  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
sun.  From  this  cause  she  naturally  paid  me  less  than  her 
usual  attention.  She  did  not  remark  how  often  I  threw 
myself  upon  her  bosom  in  outbursts  of  tenderness,  thereby 
endeavoring  to  atone  for  that  treacherous  "When  Use  is 
gone." 

But  other  scruples  also  troubled  me.  It  never  occurred 
to  me  that  there  could  be  any  danger  to  myself  in  thus 
mixing  myself  up  in  these  mysterious  affairs.  I  was  far 
from  possessing  sufficient  worldly  wisdom  for  that.  I  was 
only  conscious  all  at  once  of  a  kind  of  feeling  of  guilt 
toward  the  man  in  the  front  house  who  sat  at  his  desk  so 
unsuspiciously  while  everybody  was  secretly  working  their 
best  against  him.  He  was  wrong — there  was  not  the 
slightest  doubt  about  that — he  was  depriving  the  two 
aspiring  ones  of  their  real  name.  I  longed  ardently  that 
they  should  be  put  in  their  right  position  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. But  that  under  cover  of  the  profoundest  silence 
machinations  should  be  carried  on  against  him  in  his  own 
very  house  and  grounds;  that  the  treacherous  bookkeeper 
and  the  brother  and  sister  following  his  example  should 
sit  at  his  table  and  converse  with  him  face  to  face;  that  my 
father  should  be  living  in  the  Carolinenlust  just  as  if  it 
were  his  own  home  and  acting  just  as  he  pleased  in  it  while 
•  his  child  was  acting  like  an  enemy  to  the  master  of  it — all 
this  pained  me  to  my  very  heart. 

"You  were  listening  to  us  yesterday,"  said  Dagobert  to 
me  the  following  morning,  knitting  his  brows  fiercely  as  I, 
frightened  by  his  unexpected  appearance  in  the  hall, 
endeavored  to  run  past  him.  It  seemed  as  though  he  had 
been  waiting  for  me.  The  complaisant  "familiar"  had 
been  transformed  into  an  imperious  gentleman  since  the 
night  before.  He  looked  just  as  proud  and  haughty  as  he 
had  done  on  the  hill  in  the  haide — and  that  annoyed  me. 
Still,  those  flashing  brown  eyes  had  so  much  power  over 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THK  MOOR.  20 1 

me  that  not  one  of  the  angry  words  upon  my  lips  would 
find  utterance. 

"Charlotte's  communications  tilled  me  with  mortal 
terror,"  he  continued.  "I  am  positively  certain  that  the 
sparrows  will  this  very  day  be  chattering  about  our  secret 
on  the  house-top,  for  you  are  far  too  young  and  inex- 
perienced to  understand  what  all  this  is  about.  One  single 
rash  word  from  your  lips  will  give  our  enemy  the  advan- 
tage and  make  our  exertions  unavailing  forever." 

"I  shall  not  speak  the  word,  however,"  I  replied 
angrily.  "We  shall  see  who  can  keep  a  secret  best." 

So  saying,  I  flew  upstairs  and  rushed  into  the  library. 
So  there  was  a  seal  placed  upon  my  lips  now  also,  and 
sooner  would  I  suffer  death  than  allow  one  syllable  to 
escape  them. 

Dagobert's  harsh  brevity  toward  me  made  me  feel  re- 
fractory. Charlotte,  on  the  contrary,  inspired  me  with 
timidity  and  anxiety.  For  whole  hours  she  would  stand 
with  folded  arms,  gazing  at  the  closed  windows  of  the  bel- 
etage  of  the  Carolinenlust  with  devouring  eyes.  She 
seemed  to  me  to  have  grown  much  paler,  and  whenever 
she  could  catch  me  for  a  moment  she  always  seized  me  in 
her  arms  and  whispered  vehemently: 

"When  is  Frau  Use  going?  I  can  neither  eat  nor  drink 
— I  shall  sink  under  this  martyrdom." 

The  only  refuge  I  had  against  these  troubles  was  with 
my  father.  He  was  just  putting  the  finishing  touches  to 
the  now  perfected  antique  cabinet,  for  the  princess  had 
announced  formally  that  her  visit  would  take  place  on  the 
earliest  occasion.  He  required  my  assistance,  and  if  I 
began  to  handle  the  least  attractive  fragments  of  marble 
or  terra-cotta  with  exactly  the  same  care  and  delicacy  as 
he  did  himself,  it  was  entirely  owing  to  the  instructions 
with  which  our  common  task  was  interspersed.  I  began 
to  discern,  however  faintly,  the  immortal  spirit  which 
dwelt  within  that  "broken  trash"  which  had  for  centuries 
been  circling  in  the  human  mind,  and  still  in  every  form, 
in  every  hue,  indicates  the  link  which  unites  every  new 
phase  with  each  mighty  step  of  human  progress. 

And  thus  approached  a  woeful,  dreadful  day.  The 
glowing  gold  of  an  unclouded  sun  shone  on  the  tips  of  the 
forest  trees  and  was  reflected  back  from  the  blue  waters  of 
the  lake.  How  I  hated  that  lake  anew,  with  its  shining 


202  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

statues,  its  masses  of  foliage  already  touched  with  the 
approaching  autumn's  tints.  I  stared  on  them  all  with  u 
beating  heart — the  rich  coloring  lost  itself  in  my  sparkling 
tears. 

"You  must  not  cry,  child,  positively  not,"  said  Use,  pass- 
ing  her  hard  hand  over  my  eyes.  She  had  her  traveling- 
dress  on,  on  the  table  lay  her  Sunday  bonnet,  and  a  little 
further  off  the  box  containing  her  few  possessions,  into 
which  she  had  just  knocked  the  last  nail.  She  had  already 
been  upstairs  to  take  leave  of  my  father.  I  was  not  allowed 
to  accompany  her,  but  as  I  waited  on  the  stairs  below  I  could 
plainly  hear  the  tones  of  entreaty  in  which  she  once  more 
poured  forth  her  sorely  oppressed  heart.  She  returned 
with  cheeks  like  a  red-hot  coal.  The  excitement,  how- 
ever, did  not  prevent  her  from  using  her  duster  as  she 
came  down.  At  every  step  she  paused  to  polish  the  marble 
stair,  for  the  princess,  as  she  said,  would  be  coming  within 
an  hour,  and  everything  must  look  "shining  with  cleanli- 
ness." 

She  then  brought  out  the  case  of  pearls  which  my  grand- 
mother gave  me. 

"There,  child,"  she  said,  laying  the  necklace  round  my 
bare  neck.  "The  princess  must  see  that  you  did  not 
come  to  your  father  altogether  penniless.  I  know  what 
an  amount  of  money  lies  concealed  in  things  like  that. 
I  have  sometimes  had  to  witness  it  when  my  poor  lady 
was  obliged  to  sell  piece  after  piece  of  the  Jacobsohn  in- 
heritance." 

Her  bonnet  was  then  tied  on  hurriedly,  her  great  shawl 
drawn  over  her  shoulders  so  as  to  conceal  the  box  which 
she  had  taken  up  under  her  left  arm,  then,  taking  me 
with  her,  she  marched,  without  ever  looking  round, 
toward  the  front  house.  I  held  her  right  hand  in  mine 
and  kept  pressing  it  to  my  breast  as  I  followed  her  un- 
consciously. Not  till  we  reached  the  hall  did  I  draw 
back,  for  Ilse  did  not  go  toward  Fraulein  Fliedner's  room, 
but  at  her  request  old  Erdmann  pointed  out  the  so-called 
new  office  belonging  to  Herr  Claudius. 

"Are  you  going  to  act  like  a  fool  to  the  very  last?"  she 
inquired  in  a  harsh  tone  as  she  laid  down  her  box  and 
proceeded  without  further  ceremony  to  open  the  door 
shown  her. 

Grumblingly  I  followed  her  into  the  dusky  green  room. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  203 

I  had  not  seen  Herr  Claudius  again  since  the  evening  I 
had  so  hurt  him — I  had  just  as  soon  kept  out  of  his  way 
forever.  Now,  however,  I  was  compelled  to  meet  him,  so 
I  did  it  with  as  much  daring  as  I  could  command.  He, 
indeed,  had  plenty  of  guilt  on  his  conscience,  but  I  had 
none,  no,  none  whatever! 

He  sat  in  one  of  the  southern  windows  writing.  When 
he  saw  us  enter  the  door  he  drew  a  string.  The  green 
curtains  flew  asunder,  and  through  the  fragrant  lattice- 
work of  shrubs  outside  shone  the  colored  fields  of  flowers 
from  the  garden  yonder.  He  stood  up  and  offered  Use  his 
hand.  I  fancied  after  our  last  meeting  that  his  eyes 
would  look  quite  different,  but  they  rested  on  me  with 
just  the  same  grave  expression  as  on  that  day  of  our  first 
meeting  at  his  writing-table — they  intimidated  me. 

"Herr  Claudius,  now  it  has  come  in  reality,"  said  Use, 
and  the  pain  of  parting,  which  she  had  hitherto  so  bravely 
suppressed,  betrayed  itself  in  every  tone.  "I  must  go 
home  now  unless  the  Dierkhof  is  to  slip  out  of  my  hands 
entirely.  God  knows  how  heavy  my  heart  is,  but  you  are 
my  consolation.  You  know  what  you  promised  me,  and 
— there  is  Lenore!" 

Before  I  could  foresee  what  she  was  about  she  had  seized 
my  hand  and  wanted  to  place  it  in  Herr  Claudius'.  He 
turned  away  his  face  and  opened  a  book  he  held  in  his 
hand.  I  understood  him  at  once — I  had  lately  shuddered 
at  his  touch. 

"I  will  watch  over  her  indefatigably,  Frau  Use,"  he 
replied,  with  his  usual  calmness;  "but  if  I  shall  eventually 
succeed  in  leading  or  even  influencing  her  yet  remains  to 
be  seen " 

"Herr  Claudius,  you  never  mean  that  the  child  will  be 
wanting  in  proper  respect?"  interrupted  Use.  "Lenore 
knows  very  well  that  the  doctor  is  so  occupied  with  his 
own  affairs  that  he  has  little  time  to  think  of  her,  and 
some  other  there  must  be  who  will  act  toward  her  as  a 
father" — I  noticed  a  slight  flush  rise  to  his  cheek  and 
spread  over  his  whole  face  at  this  observation — "till  she 
can  return  home  to  the  Dierkhof.  I  say  it  again,  you  are 
my  consolation  in  this  bitter  moment,  and  though  you 
haven't  given  Lcuore  your  hand — still,  you  are  a  grave, 
stern  man  and  she  is  still  a  mere  child  in  thought  and 
deed " 


204  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"You  are  quite  mistaken  there,"  he  interrupted  her. 
Oh,  what  torment!  There  was  Use  now  probing  the 
wound  which  I  had  given  him.  The  deep  sense  of  remorse 
once  more  assailed  me  at  this  moment,  though  I  could 
make  it  all  up  again — but  no,  I  dared  not  now.  I  should 
have  been  as  false  then  as  the  old  bookkeeper,  who  be- 
trayed his  master  and  yet  to  all  appearance  kept  on  a  good 
footing  with  him.  "What  your  young  charge  will  stand  in 
deepest  need  of  just  at  present,  Frau  Use,"  added  Herr 
Claudius,  "will  be  comfort."  His  eyes,  to  my  great  con- 
fusion, were  fixed  immovably  on  my  face.  "She  looks  so 
pale  I  fear  that  horror  and  disgust  at  the  limited  space  to 
which  she  is  confined,  and  which  already  weighs  upon  her, 
will  now  become  intolerable."  He  took  a  new  key  from 
the  wall  and  laid  it  on  the  table  before  me.  "I  know 
where  you  will  first  be  able  to  soothe  the  pain  of  parting, 
Fraulein  von  Sassen,"  he  said.  "I  hare  had  the  lock  of 
the  garden  gate  newly  arranged.  The  key  belongs  to 
you ;  you  can  now  visit  the  Helldorf  family  undisturbed 
and  enjoy  your  little  pet's  society  as  often  as  you  like." 

Use  looked  surprised,  but  there  was  no  time  for  further 
explanations.  A  carriage  came  rattling  over  the  pave- 
ment in  the  yard. 

"Fran  Use,  it  is  time  you  were  gone,"  said  Herr 
Claudius,  looking  out  of  a  window,  from  which  he  drew 
back  the  curtain.  His  carriage  was  standing  at  the  yard 
gate  and  old  Erdmann  was  just  lifting  Use's  trunk  into  it. 

"Ah,  what!  Surely  I  am  not  going  to  drive  in  the 
carriage!"  cried  Use  in  amazement. 

"Why  not?  I  thought  the  parting  would  be  over 
sooner  than  if  you  left  the  house  on  foot." 

"Well,  then,  in  God's  name.  There,  child,  don't  for- 
get the  key,"  she  said,  thrusting  it  into  my  pocket.  "I 
don't  know  what  the  object  of  it  is,  but  Herr  Claudius 
gave  it  to  you,  and  so  I  leave  it  without  question  in  your 
hands." 

She  shook  him  heartily  by  the  hand.  In  the  hall  out- 
side stood  Fraulein  Fliedner  and  Charlotte.  I  was  unable 
to  bear  the  young  girl's  sparkling  eyes  and  beaming  smile 
and  laid  my  head  sobbing  on  Use's  breast.  It  beat  heavily 
with  suppressed  tears.  I  could  hear  her  hard  breathing. 
For  one  moment  her  arms  inclosed  me  vehemently.  I 
saw  Herr  Claudius  as  through  a  mist  standing  betweeu 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  <J05 

the  green  curtains  above.  He  privately  signed  to  Use  to 
cut  the  torture  short;  it  was  needless — I  did  it  myself. 
With  hands  pressed  to  my  temples  I  fled  through  the 
garden,  and  only  when  I  had  crossed  the  bridge  did  I  hear 
the  carriage  rolling  through  the  gateway  in  the  distance. 

I  closed  the  shutters,  bolted  the  door,  and  threw  myself 
into  the  corner  of  the  sofa  where  Use  had  sat  last,  I  lay 
thus  for  hours  in  the  deepest  anguish. 

The  Princess  Margaret  came;  my  father  received  her 
in  the  hall.  I  heard  Herr  von  Wismar  and  the  maid  of 
honor  chasing  the  crane,  who  had  no  doubt  approached 
too  near  to  the  right  honorable  lady  to  make  his  obeisance. 
The  steps  paused  at  the  lel-etage;  the  princess  was  prob- 
ably gazing  at  the  mysteriously  sealed  doors.  A  frightful 
oppression  seized  me  now  Use  was  gone  and  the  mo- 
ment near  to  which  I  had  pledged  myself  when  I 
could  add  incontestable  proof  of  the  bookkeeper's  com- 
munications, I  put  my  hand  in  my  pocket  and  flung 
the  key  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  room  as  though 
it  burned  my  fingers.  I  was  trusted  where  I  was 
deceiving.  Strange  to  say,  that  man  in  the  front  house 
was  always  at  my  side,  turn  which  way  I  would,  tenderly 
caring  for  me,  grave  and  quiet,  but  not  to  be  repulsed, 
and  yet  I  did  not  want  any  tie  with  him.  I  clung  to  the 
oiHiers,  exclusively  to  the  others;  one  day  he  must  learn 
that — to  his  sorrow.  I  buried  my  face  still  deeper  in  the 
pillow.  At  this  moment  even  the  faint  streak  of  light 
which  crept  through  the  shutters  pained  me.  The  prin- 
cess ascended  still  higher  and  my  father  knocked  at  my 
door;  he  wanted  to  fetch  me.  I  never  moved  and  was 
delighted  when  I  heard  the  whole  party  leave  the  house. 
But  not  long  after  Charlotte  came  racing  up  the  corridor. 
She  rattled  unceremoniously  at  my  door  and  called  out 
my  name  in  an  imperious  tone.  When  I  opened  the  door 
there  she  stood,  looking  haughtier  and  handsomer  than 
ever  and  in  the  most  magnificent  toilet. 

"Quick,  quick,"  she  exclaimed  impatiently,  "the  prin- 
cess wants  to  see  you.  I  really  think  you  are  out  of  your 
wits,  hiding  yourself  that  way  in  Egyptian  darkness  and 
locking  yourself  up,  all  because  you  liave  got  rid  of  that 
home-bred  sermonizer!  Get  away  with  your  sentimen- 
tality 1" 

She  ran  her  fingers  through  my  hair,  shook  out  my  dis- 


206  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

ordered  dress,  and  the  arm  she  passed  round  my  waist  It  < 
me  along  with  such  power  that  I  quickly  found  myself  aa 
the  road  to  the  front  house. 

"I  happened  to  be  in  the  garden  with  Dagobert,  quite 
accidentally,  just  as  the  princess  was  passing  through  on 
her  way  to  the  hot-houses,"  said  Charlotte  in  a  careless 
tone — with  all  my  simplicity  and  boundless  faith  in  every 
word  she  uttered,  I  could  not  refrain  from  casting  a 
questioning  glance  at  the  studied  elegance  in  which  she 
had  "accidentally"  attited  herself — "and  what  do  you 
think  ?  Your  absent  papa,  who  generally  speaking  scarcely 
knows  me  from  old  Erdmann,  actually  undertook  to  pre- 
sent us,  and,  only  fancy,  it  succeeded — succeeded  per- 
fectly. He  never  once  confounded  me  with  Dagobert!" 

There  was  the  old  imperious  tone  again,  which  always 
overawed  me  with  its  assumption  of  superiority. 

"Uncle  Eric  was  also  caught  by  the  court  party,  of 
course  quite  contrary  to  his  intention,"  she  continued. 
"Just  as  the  princess  stepped  in  he  was  giving  directions 
as  to  some  alteration  in  the  large  conservatory  at  the 
rockery.  I  am  positive  he  is  already  secretly  anathematiz- 
ing the  court  journal,  which  will,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
give  the  whole  account  of  the  ducal  visit  to  the  Claudius 
establishment  in  all  its  minutest  details  to-morrow.  Of 
course  he  doesn't  allow  this  to  be  seen.  He  has  enshrined 
himself  in  the  imperturbable  calm  and  placidity  of  all  his 
burgher  virtues,  and  looks  exactly  as  if  it  were  he  who 
was  doing  the  high  society  honor!  Ridiculous;  and  I 
really  believe  it  produces  an  effect  upon  the  princess. 
She  smelled,  if  possible,  every  little  flower,  and  is  now 
gone  to  the  front  house  to  inspect  the  whole  establishment 
dutifully.  That  odious  back  room,  for  instance.  Well, 
that  is  a  matter  of  taste." 

We  entered  the  hall  just  as  the  princess  was  leaving  this 
same  back  room.  She  was  walking  beside  Herr  Claudius 
and  had  a  magnificent  bouquet  in  her  hand. 

"Where  was  the  haide  princess  hiding?"  she  inquired  as 
she  kindly  smiled  at  me.  So  Charlotte  had  already  found 
an  opportunity  for  acquainting  her  with  my  sobriquet. 

"In  a  room  like  a  dungeon,  your  highness,"  said  the 
young  lady,  answering  for  me.  "The  little  thing  is  sad 
because  she  has  had  to  part  from  her  old  servant  to-day." 

"I  must  beg  you  will  speak  differently  of  Frau  Use, 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  HOOK.  207 

Charlotte,"  said  Herr  Claudius.  "She  has  during  years 
of  love  and  faithful  care  sought  to  supply  the  place  of  a 
mother  to  Fraulein  von  Sassen." 

"Well,  then,  she  deserves  that  you  should  have  cried 
your  eyes  out  for  her,"  said  the  princess  lovingly  to  me 
and  kissing  my  forehead. 

Just  at  that  moment  Fraulein  Fliedner  came  down- 
stairs holding  a  huge  bunch  of  keys  in  her  hand,  and 
making  a  low  courtesy  announced  that  everything  was 
thrown  open.  The  antiquated  mercantile  house  interested 
the  princess  extremely,  and  she  expressed  a  wish  to  see 
the  upper  rooms  also,  when  Herr  Claudius  told  her  that 
they  had  remained  untouched  for  years.  My  father, 
accompanied  by  Herr  von  Wismar  and  the  lady-in-wait- 
ing, now  issued,  laughing,  from  Fraulein  Fliedner's  room ; 
they  had  been  inspecting  the  presses  filled  with  all  kinds 
of  rarities  in  glass. 

My  eyes  followed  Herr  Claudius  involuntarily  as  he 
slowly  ascended  the  stairs  beside  the  royal  lady.  Char- 
lotte was  right:  in  his  proud  reserve  and  native  nobility 
the  "kramer"  looked  as  if  he  were  conferring  honor,  not 
receiving  it;  and  it  suddenly  struck  me  as  if  this  nimbus 
of  unsought  grandeur  shed  a  natural  elevation  over  the 
house  of  his  fathers,  over  the  huge  stone  arches  which 
majestically  echoed  back  every  word,  every  step,  and  on 
that  broad,  massive  staircase,  with  its  solid  yet  exquisitely 
delicate  iron  balustrade. 

The  upper  rooms  no  doubt  exhibited  the  old  burgher 
taste  and  practical  mercantile  sense,  which  had  selected 
arrangements  suitable  "for  all  times."  Kemoved  as  far 
from  the  gay  splendor  of  the  Carolinenlust  as  heaven  from 
earth,  it  nevertheless  abounded  in  signs  of  wealth.  There 
were  no  soft,  luxurious  cushions  covered  with  rich  white 
satin;  the  furniture  there  was  all  carved,  indeed,  out  of 
the  most  valuable  wood,  but  angular  and  wanting  in 
all  grace — probably  something  like  those  who  had  once 
dwelt  among  it;  and  instead  of  roguish  eyes,  flower  god- 
desses looked  down  from  their  frames  on  the  walls,  with 
here  and  there  an  exception  in  the  shape  of  some  well- 
bred  German  lady  by  Holbein,  with  downcast  eyes  and 
exquisitely  painted  head-gear.  But  the  indelible  colors 
of  real  Gobelin  tapestry  also  ornamented  the  walls;  the 
floors  were  covered  with  leather  stamped  in  real  gold  and 


208  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

the  windows  were  hung  with  thick  heavy  brocade  of  gloomy 
magnificence. 

The  stern  spirit  of  the  old  German  burgher  times,  which 
even  the  walls  here  had  caught,  might  be  pleasing  enough 
as  well  as  surprising  to  the  princess.  She  passed  through 
the  open  door  of  the  first  saloon  and  took  up  a  silver 
bumper  in  both  her  hands,  an  enormous,  perfectly  gigantic 
vessel  which  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room  on 
an  oaken  table.  She  laughingly  endeavored  to  raise  it  to 
her  lips.  At  that  moment  Herr  Claudius  sprang  to  her 
side  and  caught  the  heavy  goblet — it  had  slipped  out  of 
her  hands.  She  was  gazing,  pale  as  death,  at  the  portrait 
of  the  handsome  Lothar. 

For  a  few  moments,  unable  to  speak,  she  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands. 

If  anything  can  recall  us  to  ourselves  in  moments  of 
anguish  it  is  the  awkward  interference  of  others  on  our 
behalf.  Fraulein  von  WTildenspring  rushed  toward  her 
mistress  and  made  an  attempt  as  if  to  support  her.  The 
princess  collected  herself  and  threw  her  off  with  a  haughty 
movement. 

"What  are  you  thinking  of,  Constance?"  she  said  in  a 
slightly  tremulous  voice.  "Are  my  nerves  so  very  weak 
that  you  suspect  me  of  a  tendency  to  faint?  May  one  not 
exhibit  some  signs  of  emotion  when  one  suddenly  beholds 
a  form  long  since  departed  standing  before  one  almost  as 
if  it  were  alive?  I  must  have  left  my  smelling-bottle  in 
the  conservatory.  I  wish  you  would  fetch  it." 

The  maid  of  honor  and  Herr  von  Wismar  disappeared 
instantly  down  the  corridor.  Dagobert  and  Charlotte 
retreated  to  one  of  the  window  niches  behind  the  impene- 
trable curtains,  and  my  father  was  already  in  the  next 
room  examining  a  carved  crucifix.  The  room  was  virtually 
empty  for  a  few  minutes.  Breathing  with  suppressed 
emotion,  the  princess  approached  the  picture.  After  a 
pause  of  unbroken  silence  she  beckoned  Herr  Claudius 
toward  her. 

"Was  this  picture  taken  for  you?"  she  inquired,  pant- 
ing for  breath. 

"No,  your  highnees." 

"Then  do  you  not  know  to  whom  it  once  belonged?" 

"It  is  the  only  article  out  of  my  brother's  former  dwell- 
ing which  I  appropriated  to  myself." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  209 

"Ah,  his  house  in  the  Carolinenlust,"  she  said,  evi- 
dently relieved.  "So,  then,  you  took  it  from  his  own 
house.  Who  painted  it?  That  never  oarne  from  the 
brush  of  our  pedantic  old  court  painter  Krause — he  was 
quite  incapable  of  infusing  so  much  life  into  the  eyes.'* 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment  and  stood  with  her  hand- 
kerchief to  her  lips. 

"It  could  net  have  been  painted  long  before— before  he 
left  us,"  she  continued  in  touching  tones.  "That  little 
silver  star,  which  he  wears  among  his  other  orders,  was 
instituted  by  my  sister  Sidonie  about  two  years  before  his 
death,  in  a  joyous  mood  at  a  picnic.  It  bore  the  device 
'Treu  und  verschwiegen,' *  and  naturally  had  no  other 
value  in  the  eyes  of  him  who  wore  it  than  the  remembrance 
of  an  hour  pleasantly  spent." 

Silence  once  more,  broken  this  time  by  a  faint  rustling 
of  the  curtains. 

"Strange,"  said  the  princess,  looking  up  suddenly. 
"Claudius  never  wore  rings.  People  used  to  say  it  was 
from  vanity,  that  the  unequaled  beauty  of  his  hand  might 
not  be  eclipsed,  and  there — look  there  at  the  small  circlet 
of  gold  on  his  finger.  I  knew  that  hand  well,  I  have  seen 
it  so  often,  and  up  to  that  awful  moment  always  without 
that  peculiar  simple  ring.  Why  is  it  there?  It  looks  like 
a  wedding-ring." 

Herr  Claudius  made  no  answer.  His  delicate  lips, 
which  were  always  tightly  shut,  as  is  frequently  the  case 
with  thoughtful  people,  showed  a  still  thinner  line  than 
usual.  Did  he  notice  that  Charlotte's  eyes  as  well  as  mine 
were  actually  glaring  at  him? 

"Dear,  dear,  where  was  my  imagination  carrying  me?" 
said  the  princess  after  a  short  pause,  with  a  melancholy 
smile.  "He  was  never  even  engaged — the  whole  world 
knows  that.  At  the  same  time,  tell  me,  did  no  one  claim 
the  picture  after  his  death?" 

"Your  highness,  there  was  nobody  except  myself  who 
had  any  claim  to  anything  belonging  to  Lothar." 

What  was  that?  The  answer  was  so  utterly  free  from 
all  embarrassment,  it  bore  such  unmistakable  evidence  of 
the  sternest  reality,  that  not  a  doubt  remained.  Charlotte 
looked  from  behind  the  curtain  with  all  the  tokens  of 

*  "  Faithful  and  secret." 


210  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

mortal  terror.  Evidently  she  had  received  the  same  im- 
pression as  I  had.  Dagobert  alone  measured  his  uncle 
with  a  long,  contemptuous  glance,  and  a  malicious  smile 
curled  his  lips.  He  was  sure  of  his  story;  he  was  unalter- 
ably convinced  that  the  man  yonder  had  lied.  Which  of 
the  two  were  wrong?  I  still  wished  the  brother  and  sister 
to  be  victorious,  but  I  was  also  of  opinion  that  never  again 
could  I  believe  any  man  should  it  prove  true  that  such  a 
person  as  Herr  Claudius  had  brought  himself  to  stoop  to 
such  a  low  deception. 

The  two  who  had  been  sent  on  the  wild-goose  chase  for 
the  smelling-bottle  came  back  shrugging  their  shoulders 
and  with  empty  hands.  The  bottle  was  finally  discovered 
in  the  princess'  pocket,  who  had  by  this  time  resumed  her 
usual  dignified  bearing.  Only  upon  her  cheeks,  usually 
tinged  with  but  the  faintest  touch  of  rose,  still  lingered  a 
deep  purple  flush. 

Fraulein  von  Wildenspring  anxiously  related  that  the 
sky  was  overcast  with  black  clouds,  indicating  an  approach- 
ing storm,  in  which  she  was  confirmed  by  the  increasing 
darkness  of  the  rooms.  The  princess,  however,  seated 
herself  notwithstanding  and  partook  of  some  of  the 
delicious  fruit  which  Fraulein  Fliedner  offered  her  in  a 
silver  basket.  Those  present  formed  in  a  group  around 
her.  My  father  alone  was  absent.  In  one  of  the  most 
distant  chambers  upstairs  he  was  wandering  about,  exam- 
ining one  piece  of  furniture  after  another.  He  appeared 
to  have  forgotten  entirely  who  he  had  come  with,  and  he 
was  left  to  himself  amid  many  smiles. 

I  felt  so  strange  and  broken-hearted  that  I  should  not 
have  cared  had  the  whole  ceiling  fallen  down  into  the 
sultry  room,  nor  should  I  have  felt  surprised  at  such,  an 
impossibility  occurring  as  that  of  the  handsome  Lothar 
stepping  down  from  his  frame  into  the  midst  of  the 
assembled  company.  How  expressive  were  his  eyes  and 
how  warm  and  life-like  that  hand,  "unrivaled  in  its 
beauty,"  which  bore  the  simple  ring  so  fraught  with 
mighty  consequences! 

Perhaps  the  princess  noticed  these  uneasy  thoughts 
flitting  across  my  face,  for  she  beckoned  to  me. 

"My  child,  you  must  not  be  so  sad,"  she  said  gently 
and  kindly,  while  I,  abashed  by  the  gaze  of  so  many  eyes 
all  centered  on  me,  sank  involuntarily  on  my  knees  at  her 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  211 

side.  I  had  often  done  so  with  Use.  She  laid  her  hand 
on  my  head  and  bent  it  down.  "Haide  princess!  how 
pretty  that  sounds.  But  you  are  no  real  child  of  the 
northern  haide,  with  your  little  brown  face  and  small 
Oriental-shaped  nose,  your  dark  refractory  locks  and  shy 
defiance  in  your  every  feature  and  motion.  Far  more  do 
you  resemble  a  princess  of  the  steppes,  before  whose  feet 
the  stolen  treasures  are  nightly  poured  and  who  decks  her- 
self with  costly  pearls  from  the  East.  Ah !  look  how  right 
I  was!"  She  smiled  and  took  up  the  pearl  necklace  which 
had  fallen  down  on  my  bosom.  For  one  moment  she 
allowed  them  to  pass  through  her  fingers  in  amazement. 
"But  these  are  really  the  very  finest  pearls  which  you  are 
wearing,"  she  said  in  great  admiration.  "Are  they  your 
own  property,  and  who  gave  you  this  string  of  such  ex- 
quisite rarity?" 

"My  grandmother." 

"Your  father's  mother?  Oh,  yes.  If  I  don't  mistake 
she  was  an  Olderode,  one  of  that  wealthy  and  very  ancient 
race — was  she  not,  my  child?" 

A  movement  just  above  the  princess'  head  caused  me  to 
look  up.  There  stood  Dagobert,  with  uplifted  finger,  and 
his  eye  met  mine  with  a  magnetic  and  piercing  expression. 
"Say  nothing"  was  the  meaning  of  his  whole  bearing. 
Like  a  kind  of  dream  it  recurred  to  me  that  he  had 
warned  me  once  already;  but  at  that  hideous  moment  I 
could  neither  find  time  nor  power  to  think  "why?" 
Under  the  influence  of  that  look  and  in  a  state  of  utter 
confusion  I  stammered: 

"I  don't  know." 

What  had  I  done?  As  I  uttered  the  last  word  the  spell 
was  broken  and  horror  seized  me  at  the  sound  of  my  own 
deceitful  voice.  What!  I  had  actually  admitted  before 
all  those  people  that  I  didn't  know  if  my  grandmother  was 
or  was  not  descended  from  the  wealthy  and  ancient  house 
of  Olderode?  What  a  lie!  I  knew  as  well  as  I  knew  my 
own  name  that  she  had  been  a  Jacobsohn.  I  saw  her  die 
.  in  the  Jewish  faith  and  had  been  her  last  comfort.  What 
object  could  I  have  had  in  this  positive  denial  of  the 
n  -th?  I  had  spoken  almost  mechanically  under  strange 
uences,  and  only  felt  with  the  deepest  sorrow  that  I 

'  ild  be  ashamed  all  my  life  long  of  that  moment.  And 
.  'h  everybody — even  Dagobert — nodded  applause. 


212  TUB  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

what  then?  There  was  one  who  judged  me  severely.  He 
looked  at  me  with  undisguised  amazement,  turned  away, 
and  left  the  room.  That  was  Herr  Claudius. 

I  struggled  with  myself,  but  didn't  find  the  courage  to 
atone  for  my  fault  by  at  once  confessing  it.  Shame  and 
the  fear  of  making  myself  ridiculous  sealed  my  lips,  and 
the  momentary  silence  which  followed  my  answer  was  soon 
broken.  The  first  burst  of  the  storm  came  sweeping 
through  the  street  and  raised  a  stifling  whirlwind  which 
blew  the  withered  stalks  and  leaves  and  the  gray  dust  of 
the  pavement  against  the  windows.  It  struck  the  weather- 
cock yonder,  and  a  deep  yellow  flash  of  lightning  shot  in; 
it  shone  on  the  window-panes  of  the  opposite  houses  with 
a  blinding  glare  and  threw  a  pale  and  flickering  reflection 
on  the  walls  and  contents  of  our  half-dark  drawing-room. 

The  princess  rose  as  every  one  hastened  to  the  window 
in  alarm ;  even  my  father  looked  up  from  his  interesting 
researches  and  hurried  toward  us.  In  my  state  of  calm 
despair  I  saw  everything  that  passed  around  me  like  one 
in  a  dream.  I  saw  Herr  Claudius  return  into  the  room, 
looking  just  as  unmoved  in  every  way  as  usual;  but  just 
at  that  moment  I  discovered  why  the  princess  looked  at 
him  so  fixedly  whenever  he  addressed  her.  It  was  be- 
cause the  self-same  light  shone  in  his  eyes  as  in  the  picture 
yonder;  that  light  which  she  had  described  as  "the  soul" 
and  which  the  pedantic  old  court  painter  could  never  have 
caught.  She  took  his  arm  and  let  him  lead  her  down- 
stairs. I  followed  mechanically  beside  Fraulein  Fliedner. 
Her  gentle  glance  was  somewhat  cold  and  distant  as  it  met 
mine.  Ah,  yes,  had  she  not  also  been  a  witness  of  the 
warning  I  had  received  from  Dagobert  in  the  greenhouse? 
and  now  she  saw  the  black  stain  of  a  lie  upon  my  brow. 
I  bit  my  lip  and  passed  out.  The  ladies'  silken  trains  came 
rustling  downstairs,  and  the  princess'  soft  sweet  voice  was 
occasionally  heard  between.  I  thought  I  had  never  before 
heard  her  speaking  in  such  gentle,  heartfelt  tones.  She 
was  assuring  Herr  Claudius  that  she  would  come  again  to 
visit  that  interesting  patriarchal  mansion.  Fraulein  von 
Wildenspring  and  the  chamberlain  laid  their  heads  tr"s 
gether  at  this  announcement.  Then  the  impertinen 
young  maid  of  honor  gathered  her  train  up  on  her  ar1^ 
and  cast  suspicious  looks  at  the  steps,  while  Herr  *Jea 
Wismar  waved  his  handkerchief  in  the  air — precisel"  "er 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  JJ13 

Dagobert  had  done  that  time  on  the  hill — as  a  protest 
against  the  princess'  intention,  which  they  did  not  venture 
to  show  more  openly.  Charlotte  was  walking  behind 
them.  I  saw  sideways  how  the  color  rose  to  her  cheek 
and  what  an  expression  of  intense  anger  curled  her  lips, 
but  even  that  failed  for  the  moment  to  touch  me.  I  was 
suddenly  awakened  from  the  stupor  which  had  taken  pos- 
session of  me. 

"Bravo!"  was  whispered  in  my  ear.  "The  haide 
princess  bore  herself  bravely.  Now  I  am  quite  at  ease 
with  regard  to  my  secret."  And  Dagobert  bent  so  close 
and  so  confidentially  toward  me  that  I  felt  his  breath  upon 
me. 

Had  I  suddenly  received  some  malicious,  painful  blow  it 
could  not  have  irritated  me  more  than  that  whisper.  I 
felt  hatred  toward  those  brown  eyes  laughing  at  me. 
They  had  lured  me  to  the  thoughtless  act,  and  the  warm 
breath  which  I  felt  upon  my  very  cheek  offended  and  in- 
censed me.  That  was  no  longer  the  man  for  whose  sake 
I  would  gladly  undergo  any  punishment.  He  was  false, 
that  handsome  Tancred,  and  his  beautiful  chestnut  locks 
were  like  serpents  hanging  in  rings  from  his  forehead. 
Unable  to  control  myself,  I  tried  to  hit  him;  then,  rush- 
ing madly  downstairs,  I  took  my  father's  arm,  who  had 
just  reached  the  last  step  beside  the  princess. 

"See,  see,  my  child,  we  are  not  now  in  the  haide!"  said 
he,  gently  reproving  me  for  my  boisterous  demeanor.  The 
court  satellites  had  sprung  to  one  side  alarmed  as  I  brushed 
past  them,  and  even  the  princess  looked  round,  some- 
what surprised  at  the  noise. 

"Oh,  you  must  not  scold  the  little  wild  bird,  doctor," 
she  said  kindly.  "Let  us  only  rejoice  that  her  natural 
jgayety  has  returned  so  quickly  and  dispelled  the  sorrow  of 
parting." 

It  was  enough  to  throw  one  into  despair.     My  utter  dis- 

Sist  now  seemed  simply  like  childish   impetuosity,  and 
err  Claudius  would  think  so  too.     He  did  not  even  look 
at  my  small  person,  however;  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
my  existence.     Well,  it  was  quite  right;  I  had   merited 
that  punishment  well. 


2H  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


XXIV. 

THE  air  in  the  hall  was  heavy  laden  with  the  concen- 
trated perfume  of  the  flower-beds  outside,  which  the 
sultriness  of  the  atmosphere  had  intensified.  As  yet  not 
one  drop  of  rain  had  fallen  to  cool  the  thirsty  ground,  but 
on  the  stone  pavement  in  the  yard  little  splinters  of  wood 
and  scraps  of  paper  were  strewed  about  in  rows  here  and 
there,  and  the  poplars  by  the  river  were  shedding  their 
smooth  leaves  by  thousands — the  tempest  was  gathering 
force  for  a  fresh  burst. 

The  princess  stepped  hastily  into  her  carriage,  which 
had  just  driven  up  from  the  next  street,  and  my  father, 
who  was  summoned  to  the  prince,  accompanied  her.  To 
Herr  Claudius  she  once  more  gave  her  hand;  Charlotte 
and  Dagobert,  on  the  other  hand,  received  a  kind  and  ele- 
gant bow,  for  which  they  gratefully  bent  to  the  earth  in 
return.  In  the  hnrry-skurry  my  little  person  was  quite 
overlooked — and  it  was  quite  right  so,  for  I  turned  my 
back  on  them  all,  and  crossing  the  yard  opened  the  garden 
gate.  I  had  some  trouble  in  keeping  my  feet ;  the  storm 
was  raging  anew  and  broke  over  the  large  plot.  It  seized 
me  fiercely  and  tore  the  gate  out  of  my  hands.  Gathering 
all  my  strength  together,  I  once  more  got  hold  of  it  and 
banged  it  after  me.  It  was  never  allowed  to  remain  open 
according  to  the  strict  rules  of  the  house. 

Now  forward.  I  staggered  a  few  steps  further,  strug- 
gling for  breath,  and  felt  as  if  I  had  been  suddenly  plunged 
amid  swelling  waves.  How  that  colored  sea  of  flowers 
was,  as  it  were,  flooding  the  earth !  How  it  rose  and  fell ! 
How  it  sometimes  showed  nothing  but  the  pale  green  of 
the  stalks  and  leaves,  and  then  burst  afresh  into  its  gaudy 
splendor!  And  how  the  tall,  elegant  Italian  poplars 
shivered  and  shimmered  in  the  storrn,  yielding  and  bend- 
ing their  light  forms  to  the  blast ! 

All  at  once  the  ground  went  from  under  my  feet;  then 
I  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a  bed  of  heliotropes,  and 
lastly  I  was  thrown  against  the  garden  wall.  Catching 
hold  of  the  projecting  stones  with  outstretched  arms,  I 
clung  to  the  wall,  leaning  my  head  against  it,  and  thus 
allowed  the  might  of  the  tempest  to  pass  over  me.  I 
looked  shyly  from  beneath  the  disheveled  locks  which 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  IHK  MOOR.  215 

flew  in  my  face,  for  the  gate  near  me  creaked  and  opt'ia'd 
and  Herr  Claudius  entered.  lie  turned  his  head  in  every 
direction  and  finally  discovered  me. 

"Ah,  the  storm  has  blown  her  there,"  he  exclaimed, 
immediately  coming  to  my  relief.  Not  a  hair  of  mine  did 
the  wind  raise  from  that  time. 

"Really,  just  like  an  unfortunate  little  swallow  that  had 
been  thrown  out  of  its  nest!"  laughed  Dagobert,  who  had 
followed  and  was  now  supporting  himself  by  clinging  to 
the  pillars  of  the  gate. 

I  let  my  arms  fall  quickly  from  the  wall  and  turned  my 
head  away — that  was  just  the  laugh  which  had  hunted  me 
through  the  haide  under  the  Dierkhof's  roof. 

"Come  back  to  the  other  house.  You  cannot  reach  the 
Carolinenlust,"  said  Herr  Claudius  gently  to  me. 

I  shook  my  head. 

"Well,  then,  I  will  go  with  you.  Unaided  it  would  be 
impossible  for  you  to  keep  your  feet." 

"  My  plaidie 
I'd  shelter  thee" 

rang  through  my  excited  mind.  No,  I  would  not  have 
either;  for  him  with  falsehood  on  his  brow  I  loathed,  and 
before  him  who  was  so  patient  and  kind  with  me  I  felt 
both  shame  and  terror. 

"I  need  no  mantle  to  protect  me — I  will  battle  through 
alone,"  I  said  in  a  suppressed  voice  and  looking  up  at  him, 
but  through  trembling,  sparkling  tears,  which  with  all  my 
efforts  I  was  unable  to  repress.  My  teeth  chattered  as  if 
I  had  the  ague. 

Herr  Claudius  looked  at  me,  Dagobert  laughing  mean- 
while. A  peculiar  expression  came  over  his  face. 

"You  are  ill,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  bending  over  me. 
'•'I  dare  not  leave  you  alone  now.  Be  good  and  go  with 
me." 

This  inexhaustible  patience  and  thoughtfulness  for  an 
unworthy  little  being  whom  he  must  thoroughly  despise, 
and  who,  despite  everything,  maintained  her  willful  de- 
meanor, broke  down  my  obstinacy.  The  raging  of  the 
wind  also  was  beginning  to  subside,  and  feeling  quite  able 
now  to  keep  my  feet,  I  quitted  my  retreat. 

Dagobert  was  still  standing  at  the  gate.     The  few  words 


210  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Herr  Claudius  had  addressed  to  me  in  that  low  tone  and 
my  sudden  consent  to  go  with  him  had  evidently  awakened 
his  mistrust.  He  laid  one  finger  warningly  on  his  lips 
and  the  other  hand  he  shook  at  me  menacingly.  He  then 
returned  into  the  yard  and  shut  the  gate.  Unnecessary 
warning!  not  a  word  would  escape  my  lips.  First  to  lie 
and  then  be  guilty  of  treachery.  Herr  Claudius  himself 
would  have  detested  me,  even  if  my  communications  had 
been  of  the  utmost  importance  to  him.  But  I  could  not 
help  thinking  at  the  same  time  of  Heinz'  dismal  stories  of 
souls  that  had  sold  themselves:  I  was  just  like  such  a  soul, 
fluttering  hither  and  thither,  unable  to  find  rest. 

We  reached  the  nearest  conservatory  with  a  few  rapid 
strides.  I  was  not  once  compelled  to  avail  myself  of  my 
companion's  protection.  My  clothes,  indeed,  blew  wildly 
about  me,  but  still  I  was  able  to  keep  my  feet  the  whole 
time.  All  at  once  a  long-continued  and  awful  flash  of  red 
lightning  struck  the  tops  of  the  rustling  poplars;  immedi- 
ately after  a  deafening  peal  of  thunder  rolled  through  the 
air,  and  the  first  drops  of  rain  fell  thick  and  heavy  against 
the  panes  of  glass.  We  entered  hastily  and  took  up  our 
place  in  the  midst  of  the  tall  foreign  plants  which,  unas- 
sailable by  the  fury  without,  stood  there  calm  and  still. 

I  looked  up  sideways  at  my  silent  companion.  He  stood 
equally  isolated  in  the  midst  of  human  tumult — was  it 
really  because  he  concealed  dark  secrets  within  his  breast? 
He  had  caught  my  glance  and  looked  inquiringly  into  my 
face. 

"The  rapid  movement  has  brought  back  the  color  to 
your  lips,"  he  said.  ''Are  you  better?" 

"I  am  not  ill,"  I  replied,  looking  down. 

"No,  but  dreadfully  excited  and  your  nerves  shaken,'* 
he  added.  "No  wonder:  it  is  the  change  of  atmosphere. 
No  young  soul  ever  exchanges  the  quiet  solitude,  where 
temptations  to  evil  are  rare,  for  the  world's  society  with 
impunity.'" 

I  understood  him  perfectly — how  gently  he  judged  my 
offense!  Yesterday  I  should  have  thought  it  was  because 
he  deceived  the  world  himself;  now  I  could  not  think  that 
any  longer. 

"I  should  like  so  much  to  make  this  transition  easier  to 
you,"  he  went  on.  "Yonder,  in  the  saloon,  a  short  time 
ago  I  said  to  myself  the  only  means  of  effecting  that  wouM 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  217 

be  to  send  you  as  quickly  as  possible  out  of  my  own  house, 
but  I  am  not  infallible  in  my  judgment.  I  may  err,  too, 
as  to  the  hands  in  which  I  would  place  your  weal  and 
woe." 

''I  won't  go,  either,"  I  said,  interrupting  him.  "Do 
you  think  I  would  have  remained  here  an  hour  longer 
after  the  torture  of  parting?  I  should  have  followed  Use 
on  foot  to  the  haide  only  I  must  stay  with  my  father.  I 
know  quite  well  that  the  child  belongs  to  the  father,  and 
he  wants  me;  ignorant  and  childish  as  I  am,  still  he  has 
become  accustomed  to  me." 

He  looked  at  me  with  surprise. 

"You  have  more  strength  of  will  than  I  thought.  It 
takes  a  great  deal  to  bring  under  the  sway  of  duty  a  nature 
which  has  grown  up  perfectly  free  and  uncontrolled. 
Good!  then  we  will  abandon  the  idea.  It  only  occurred 
to  me  in  an  evil  moment,  full  of  depressing  fears — that 
moment  when  I  saw  you  stumbling." 

At  these  words  he  turned  away  and  busied  himself  so 
completely  in  giving  a  new  direction  to  one  of  the  mag- 
nificent blossoms  which  was  pressing  against  one  of  the 
panes  that  he  seemed  to  be  entirely  absorbed  in  the  occu- 
pation. He  appeared  unconscious  that  I  buried  my  face 
in  my  hands,  to  hide  the  glow  of  shame  which  rose  there. 

"You  have  no  confidence  in  me — that  is,  it  is  systemat- 
ically rubbed  out  of  you;  for  you  certainly  did  not  bring 
the  slightest  mistrust  of  the  world  or  mankind  here  with 
you,"  he  continued  with  deep  gravity.  "I  have  found  it 
difficult  in  your  case  to  assume  the  role  of  the  faithful  Eck- 
hardt,  whose  lot  it  was  to  warn  men  against  attractive  sins 
and  was  in  consequence  rarely  loved;  but  that  shall  not 
prevent  my  entering  on  my  duty  this  very  hour.  Perhaps 
whan  your  knowledge  of  the  world  becomes  more  extended 
— perhaps  you  will  then  see  that  mine  was  a  faithful  hand, 
stretched  forth  almost  in  a  parental  sense  to  guard  the 
child  from  knocking  its  head  against  the  corners.  And 
this  hope  shall  suffice.  Don't  count  the  grains  of  sand, 
though,  so  busily  as  they  lie  at  your  feet,"  said  he,  sud- 
denly interrupting  himself.  "Won't  you  look  up  just 
once?  I  should  like  to  know  what  you  are  thinking." 

"I  am  thinking  that  you  will  prevent  my  intercourse 
with  Charlotte,"  I  replied,  suddenly  looking  up. 

"Not  quite.     Under  my  own  eyes  or  in  Fraulein  Filed- 


218  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

ner's  society  you  may  meet  her  as  often  as  yon  like.  But 
I  earnestly  implore  you  to  avoid  being  alone  with  her  as 
far  as  possible.  As  I  have  already  told  you,  her  head  is 
tilled  with  unhealthy  fancies,  and  I  may  not  permit  you  to 
be  infected  with  similar  nonsense.  Only  this  very  day 
was  I  witness  to  the  rapidity  with  which  a  pure  and  guile- 
less human  soul  becomes  the  prey  of  such  influences. 
Promise  me  you  will  obey  me." 

Forgetting  himself,  he  stretched  out  his  hand. 

"I  cannot  do  that,"  I  exclaimed,  while  he,  turning  pale, 
withdrew  his  hand  in  sudden  terror.  "I  feel  hot  and  nerv- 
ous in  this  sultry  atmosphere" — and  really  my  heart  was 
beating  to  suffocation.  "See,  the  rain  is  beginning  to 
moderate.  I  have  the  shelter  of  the  trees  up  to  the  Caro- 
linenlust.  Let  me  go  out." 

With  these  words  I  bounded  out,  along  the  river's  bank. 
The  weather  was  worse  than  ever  and  in  a  moment  I  was 
deluged  with  rain.  I  held  my  hand  before  my  eyes  to 
shelter  myself  from  rushing  blindly  against  the  trees  or 
into  the  river,  and  never  paused  till  I  reached  the  hall  of 
the  Carolinenlust.  Thank  God,  I  no  longer  heard  that 
gentle  voice  that  in  spite  of  everything  touched  me  as 
though  a  warm  living  heart  beat  within. 

I  threw  off  my  saturated  muslin  dress,  slipped  into  the 
despised  black  frock,  and  threw  open  the  shutters.  I  was 
totally  alone  in  the  large  house.  Outside  in  one  corner 
the  poultry,  whom  the  storm  had  driven  all  together,  were 
screaming  and  cackling.  Cowering  into  a  corner,  I  undid 
the  pearls  from  my  neck.  With  fearful  life-like  power 
did  I  again  behold  my  grandmother's  half-closed  eyes  and 
once  more  hear  her  failing  voice  say,  "Use,  lay  the  string 
round  the  little  brown  throat,"  and  then  to  me:  "They 
suit  your  face,  my  child;  you  have  your  mother's  eyes,  but 
the  Jacobsohu  features."  The  name  which  I  this  day  pre- 
tended ignorance  of  was  actually  written  on  my  face. 
Was  there  a  more  deceitful,  faithless  being  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  than  myself?  What  road  was  I  going?  How 
often  during  the  last  few  weeks  had  I  allowed  myself  to  be 
betrayed  into  acting  wrongly  and  foolishly?  But  I  would 
grow  good  again — I  pressed  the  pearls  with  inward  enthusi- 
asm to  my  lips — and  would  never  again  rush  blindly  into 
anything  without  inquiring  who  might  be  hurt  thereby. 

Outside  the  storm  and  rain  were  raging  on.     It  seemed 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  219 

as  if  two  tempests  were  engaged  in  battle  in  the  air.  Sud- 
denly, to  my  great  terror,  I  saw  two  forms  approaching 
from  the  bosquet  and  running  toward  the  house — it  was 
the  brother  and  sister. 

"There,  child,  that  is  the  way  one  must  struggle  through 
if  they  would  seek  traces  of  their  fortune,"  said  Char- 
lotte, entering,  out  of  breath.  She  threw  her  umbrella, 
which  was  broken  to  pieces,  into  one  corner  of  the  room, 
her  dripping  shawl  upon  the  sofa,  and  began  to  dry  her 
face  and  hair  with  her  pocket-handkerchief. 

"At  last,"  she  exclaimed.  "We  had  to  stay  there, 
stretched  on  the  rack,  as  long  as  Uncle  Eric  remained  in 
the  garden.  Now  he  is  settled  in  his  office,  and  Eckhof 
with  him,  to  whom,  in  accordance  with  your  wish,  we 
have  not  told  that  you  are  our  confidante.  Your  papa  is 
at  the  castle — nothing  could  be  more  fortunate.  We  are 
lords  of  the  soil.  Forward,  then!" 

"Now?"  I  cried,  shuddering.  "It  must  be  enough  to 
frighten  one  to  death  up  there  now." 

Dagobert  broke  into  a  loud  laugh,  but  Charlotte  grew 
crimson  and  stamped  at  me  with  her  foot. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  don't  be  such  a  coward,"  she  ex- 
claimed violently.  "I  am  dying  with  impatience,  and  yon 
go  on  with  such  fooleries,  Do  you  really  think  I  would 
go  patiently  and  quietly  to  bed  after  waiting  all  this  time 
for  that  Use  to  be  gone,  whom  I  thought  we  never  should 
get  rid  of — indeed,  that  I  would  wait  till  evening  came, 
without  settling  the  doubt  Uncle  Eric  infused  into  my 
mind  to-day?  I  should  die  of  the  beating  of  my  heart. 
And  in  addition  to  that,  Dagobert  joins  his  regiment  to- 
morrow. He  must  first  have  convincing  proofs.  Not  a 
moment's  delay  will  we  allow  you.  Keep  your  word. 
Forward!  forward,  child!" 

She  seized  me  by  the  shoulder  and  shook  me.  Hitherto 
I  had  regarded  the  handsome  girl  with  a  timid  love  and 
admiration;  now  I  began  to  fear  her,  and  her  style  and 
manner  of  speaking  of  Use  thoroughly  disgusted  me.  I 
remained  quite  still,  however,  for  I  had  slipped  my  own 
head  into  the  noose  and  could  not  draw  it  out  again.  Si- 
lently I  opened  the  door  of  my  bedroom  and  pointed  to  the 
press. 

"Move  it  away?"  inquired  Charlotte,  understanding 
me  at  once. 


220  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  assented,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  the  brother 
and  sister  had  seized  the  piece  of  furniture  and  pushed  it 
aside.  The  door  was  disclosed  to  view.  Charlotte 
opened  it  and  went  up  the  steps.  She  stood  motionless 
for  one  moment,  and  turning  very  pale  pressed  her  hand 
to  her  heart,  as  though  she  would  choke  in  the  very  act. 
Then  she  flew  up  and  Dagobert  and  I  followed. 

I  was  right — it  was  terribly  gloomy  up  there.  The 
tempest  was  raging  furiously  around  that  very  corner  as 
though  it  would  carry  it  away  and  with  it  destroy  every 
hidden  vestige  and  record  of,  those  mysterious  circum- 
stances about  to  be  brought  to  light.  Behind  the  rose- 
colored  blinds  we  could  hear  the  unwearied  foaming  of  the 
water;  even  the  deceptive  light  shed  by  the  pink  draperies 
was  overcome  by  the  outward  gloom. 

To  open  the  door,  enter,  and  seize  the  mantle  which 
hung  over  the  partition  was  to  Charlotte  the  work  of  a 
moment;  she  took  it  down  from  the  nail  and  spread  it  out. 

"It  is  a  domino  which  might  belong  to  a  gentleman  just 
as  well  as  to  a  lady,"  said  she  dejectedly  and  letting  it  fall 
on  the  carpet.  Slightly  shrugging  her  shoulders,  she  pro- 
ceeded to  examine  the  dressing-table  apparatus  with  evi- 
dent anxiety.  "Pomade  and  pondre  de  riz,  with  several 
bottles  of  some  fine  wash,"  said  she,  blowing  away  the 
thick  coating  of  dust.  "Just  the  way  the  toilet-table  of  a 
handsome  young  officer,  adored  by  the  ladies,  would  look; 
isn't  it,  Dagobert?  The  handsome  Lothar  was  as  vain  as 
any  lady.  If  you  have  no  better  proof  to  adduce,  child, 
things  look  badly,"  said  she  to  me,  looking  back  over  her 
shoulder  in  apparent  calm ;  but  I  saw  something  glimmer- 
ing in  her  eyes  which  filled  me  still  with  a  kind  of  pity — 
it  was  dead  anxiety  and  the  deepest  dejection. 

Suddenly  she  uttered  a  tremulous  cry,  then  one  of  vic- 
tory, which  rang  through  me.  She  stretched  out  her 
arms,  rushed  through  an  open  door  of  an  adjoining  apart- 
ment, and  threw  herself  upon  the  basket  which  stood  near 
the  bed  under  a  canopy. 

"Our  cradle,  Dagobert,  our  cradle.  Oh,  Heaven!"  she 
exclaimed,  while  her  brother  sprang  to  one  of  the  windows 
and  drew  back  the  curtain.  Pale  and  flickering  shone  the 
daylight  on  the  tiny  faded  pillow  where  Charlotte  had 
hidden  her  face. 

"It  is  true,  all  true,  every  iota,"  she  murmured,  raising 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  221 

herself.  "I  bless  the  woman  in  her  grave  who  listened. 
Dagobert,  here  did  our  royal  mother  hear  our  first  cry! 
Our  royal  mother,  the  proud  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  K. ! 
How  bewitching  that  sounds,  and  it  throws  into  the  shade 
those  aristocrats  who  have  turned  up  their  noses  at  the 
merchant's  adopted  children.  Oh,  I  am  overcome  with 
joy!"  she  exclaimed,  interrupting  herself  suddenly  and 
pressing  her  hands  to  her  forehead.  "Our  cruel  enemy, 
he  in  the  shop  yonder,  was  quite  right  when  he  told  me 
lately  I  must  first  learn  to  bear  the  truth !  I  am  dazzled." 

"For  my  sake,  then,  cease  this  blustering,"  said  Dago- 
bert in  a  tone  of  annoyance  and  vexation,  letting  the  cur- 
tain fall  again  over  the  window.  "Let  us  have  a  little 
reason  now;  this  extravagant  demeanor  is  quite  incompre- 
hensible. Such  proofs  were  quite  unnecessary  to  convince 
me.  I  was  fully  satisfied  with  old  Eckhof's  information, 
and  it  too  was  but  the  ray  of  light  which  fully  awoke  the 
inward  conviction  which  our  own  hearts,  our  own  blood, 
had  already  given  us." 

Charlotte  spread  the  green  veil  once  more  tenderly  over 
the  little  bed. 

"Thank  God  for  this  mental  peace,"  she  said,  more 
composed.  "My  skeptical  brain  has  given  me  trouble  dur- 
ing the  last  few  days.  Oh,  you  dear  innocent!"  she  said, 
laughing  in  a  jeering  tone  at  me.  "You  prattled  to  me 
about  specimens  of  a  lady's  handwriting  and  a  woman's 
cloak  which  would  have  formed  but  sorry  kind,  of  proofs, 
and  this  room,  with  all  its  important  details,  escaped  your 
silly  eye!  Are  you,  then,  really  so  awfully — harmless? 
With  one  word  you  could  have  spared  me  all  the  martyr- 
dom I  have  lately  endured.'* 

I  scarcely  heeded  this  scornful,  sarcastic  voice.  I  was 
thinking  regretfully  of  the  pathetic  description  which 
Eckhof  had  insensibly  depicted  of  those  who  had  once  in- 
habited the  now  sealed  chambers.  Everything  belonging 
to  the  secret  which  two  long-departed  souls  had  shared  was 
now  being  raked  up  ruthlessly,  the  sheltering  dust  blown 
away.  How  anxiously  had  this  secret  been  guarded! 
Even  the  princess' sister  knew  nothing  of  it.  Who,  then, 
could  tell  but  that  those  two  had  ardently  desired  that 
even  in  death  the  veil  should  remain  drawn?  They  both 
lay  in  their  graves  now — the  beautiful  princess  and  the 
poor  man  with  that  stain  on  his  handsome  brow;  neither 


222  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

could  keep  off  strange  hands  and  eyes — unless,  indeed,  they 
were  permitted  to  return  and  give  warnings,  as  the  gloomy 
fanatic  had  said.  Awfully  alive  in  very  deed  were  now 
those  chambers  where  I  had  seen  naught  save  the  noiseless 
sunbeams  playing  and  dancing  about.  Yes,  outside  the 
tempest  was  indeed  thundering  against  the  walls  like  a 
battering-ram,  but  inside  it  seemed  to  expire  in  faint 
groans  at  the  ceiling.  The  loose  curtains  became  grad- 
ually inflated  with  wind  and  rustled  like  a  woman's  dress 
along  the  floor;  here  and  there  a  pale  streak  of  light  crept 
in,  faintly  lighting  up  the  violet  bed-curtains  and  the  grim 
shadows  in  the  corners — like  a  phantom  doomed  to  wander 
midway  between  heaven  and  earth. 

It  was  very  daring  to  select  this  hour  of  terrible  tumult 
for  violating  in  secret  the  carefully  guarded  relics  of  a  dead 
man — so  I  thought,  with  anxious,  beating  heart;  but  I 
held  my  tongue.  What  could  my  poor  voice  effect  in  the 
face  of  such  passion  and — now  the  right  word  for  Char- 
lotte's extravagant  bearing  occurred  to  me — against  this 
eagerness  for  a  higher  position  and  distinction? 

They  both  stood  before  the  writing-table  which  I  had  so 
sternly  respected  that  I  had  scarcely  ventured  to  breathe 
over  it.  Isow  every  single  thing  upon  it  was  tossed  hither 
and  thither  with  the  speed  of  lightning. 

"Here  are  mamma's  arms  on  a  seal,  writing-materials, 
and  sheets  of  paper,"  said  Charlotte,  her  voice  still  quiver- 
ing, but  all  her  usual  proud  calm  and  self-reliance  once 
more  evident  in  her  demeanor.  "And  there  various  old 
letters."  She  drew  out  the  envelopes  from  beneath  a 
paper-weight.  "  'To  her  Highness  the  Princess  Sidonie 
von  K.,  Lucerne.'  See  there,  Dagobert  everyone  of  these 
letters  has  been  in  Switzerland;  they  all  bear  the  post- 
mark. A  confidante  of  mamma's  must  no  doubt  have 
been  always  on  the  road  in  her  stead,  received  the  letters, 
and  conveyed  them  secretly  to  the  Carolinenlust." 

Dagobert  returned  no  answer.  He  was  rattling  at  the 
lock  of  the  table.  The  key  was  wanting,  but  according  to 
Eckhof 's  statements  its  drawer  contained  Lothar's  pocket- 
book,  with  the  necessary  documents,  tightly  and  hope- 
lessly shut  in.  Shrugging  his  shoulders  and  with  a  gloomy 
brow,  Dagobert  turned  away,  pulled  back  one  of  the  cur- 
tains and  surveyed  the  state  of  the  weather;  while  Char- 
lotte, throwing  the  envelopes  carelessly  on  the  table, 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  223 

walked  to  the  other  end  of  the  room.  There  stood  a  piano 
— in  my  late  rapid  flight  I  had  not  remarked  it.  Charlotte 
opened  it  at  once  and  struck  chords  which  ought  perhaps 
never  again  to  have  been  heard.  They  at  all  events  re- 
sisted; they  had  voices,  and  fearfully  discordant  ones. 
Accompanied  by  the  clang  of  broken  strings,  they  vibrated 
in  such  shrill  tones  against  the  walls  of  the  room  that  even 
Charlotte's  strong  nerves  gave  way,  and  shrinking  back 
she  closed  the  lid  of  the  instrument.  She  was  terrified; 
but  of  that  palpitating  shyness,  that  feeling  of  tender  rev- 
erence with  which  my  thoughts  invested  every  lifeless  ob- 
ject with  a  kind  of  feeling — of  these  not  a  single  trace  ap- 
peared to  animate  her.  She  seized  the  music  which  lay 
on  the  piano  and  foraged  among  it  till  she  suddenly 
shrieked  once  more,  in  a  half -suppressed,  but  still  tri- 
umphant voice,  "Gia  la  luna  in  mezzo  al  mare."  It  re- 
sounded through  the  room. 

"Dagobert,  there  it  is,  what  mamma  sang  in  Madam 
Godin's  salon;  here  it  is — here,"  and  she  threw  the 
music  up  in  the  air.  I  observed  that  her  brother  did  not 
answer  and  turned  round.  He  was  standing  with  his  back 
to  us,  hanging  over  the  writing-table.  In  a  few  rapid 
steps  I  stood  beside  him. 

"You  must  not  do  that,"  I  said.  I  was  frightened  at 
the  sound  of  my  own  voice,  it  was  so  toneless  and  quiver- 
ing. In  spite  of  that,  however,  I  looked  him  courageously 
in  the  face. 

"Ah,  what  must  I  not  do?"  he  demanded  mockingly, 
at  the  same  time  letting  fall  his  hands,  in  which  he  held 
an  instrument. 

"Break  the  lock,"  I  replied.  "It  is  my  fault  that  you 
are  here  behind  the  seals.  I  guided  you  here.  It  is  a 
grave  fault,  I  am  very  well  aware  of  that.  More,  however, 
must  not  be  done — I  will  not  allow  it,"  I  burst  out  as  I 
saw  him  again  raise  his  hand. 

"Indeed?"  he  replied,  laughing.  It  was  strange,  but 
his  eyes  wandered  over  me  and  kindled  into  light  such  as 
I  had  never  yet  seen  in  them.  "And  how  will  you  pre- 
vent it,  you  little  fragile,  quicksilver  creature?"  he  in- 
quired, putting  the  instrument  at  once  into  the  lock.  I 
heard  it  creaking  and  cracking  in  it.  Nervous,  but  at  the 
same  time  angry,  I  seized  his  arm  with  both  my  hands  and 
tried  to  pull  him  away.  At  that  moment  I  was  seized 


224  THE  PRINCESS  OP  THE  MOOR. 

round  my  waist  and  held  tightly,  while  Dagobert  whis- 
pered in  my  ear:  "Little  wild  cat,  don't  touch  me  or  look 
at  me  that  way — it  is  dangerous  for  you.  Your  fascinat- 
ing eyes  undid  me  from  the  very  first.  Just  your  wild 
mischief  attracts  me,  and  if  you  try  to  hit  me  again,  as 
you  did  on  the  stairs  to-day,  then  it  is  all  up  with  you — 
charming,  slippery  little  lizard. " 

I  screamed  aloud  and  he  let  me  go. 

"What  nonsense  are  you  going  on  with  there,  Dago- 
bert?" said  Charlotte,  hurrying  over.  "Leave  the  child 
alone,  I  beg.  You  must  not  play  off  any  of  your  lieuten- 
ant's tricks  on  her.  Lenore  is  under  my  protection,  and 
there  is  an  end  of  that.  Moreover,  the  little  innocent  is 
quite  right.  What  we  find  locked  up  here  we  have  no 
business  to  open  by  force.  And  of  what  use  would  the 
documents  be  to  us  if  we  had  to  acknowledge  that  we  had 
obtained  them  like  rogues  from  behind  those  legal  seals? 
They  are  even  out  of  Uncle  Eric's  reach,  on  account  of 
his  having  had  the  doors  sealed,  and  we  do  not  require  to 
see  them.  As  surely  as  I  breathe,  so  surely  do  I  know 
now  that  we  were  born  here — that  we  are  standing  in  our 
parents'  house,  on  our  own  lawfully  inherited  territory," 
she  said  solemnly.  "Do  you  hear?  The  storm  is  saying 
'Amen.'  " 

Yes,  there  was  a  clap  that  made  the  very  ground  shake 
beneath  our  feet  and  which  burst  open  the  glass  door  that 
I  had  but  slammed  to,  without  properly  shutting,  when 
lately  there,  deluging  the  writing-table  with  rain  in  one 
moment. 

"Ha!  ha!  it  says  amen  and  points  out  the  way  we 
should  proceed  at  the  same  time,"  said  Dagobert,  laughing 
and  shutting  the  door.  "It  does  not  touch  this  writing- 
table  with  a  gloved  hand — its  motto  is  'Might  against 
might.'  If  matters  are  to  go  on  as  you  and  Eckhof  ad- 
vised, then  I  must  go  on  begging  every  groschen  from 
uncle  and  listening  to  his  reproofs  about  my  debts  till  my 
hair  is  gray;  and  you  will  grow  an  old  maid  in  the  same 
detested  dependence." 

"That  I  shall  be  in  any  case,"  she  said,  a  slight  pallor 
spreading  over  her  face.  "I  would  never  marry  beneath 
me.  But  these  court  fools,  on  the  other  hand,  are  detest- 
able to  me,  so  I  will  not  love  either — I  will  not.  I  have 
quite  another  object  in  view — I  intend  to  become  the  head 


TEE  PEINCES8  OF  THE  MOOR.  335 

of  a  chapter.  There  many  a  one  who  has  trodden  me 
down  will  come  under  my  jurisdiction — let  them  take  care 
of  themselves.  Besides,  I  don't  understand  you,  Dago- 
bert,"  she  continued  after  taking  a  long  breath.  "We 
settled  long  ago  that  matters  are  not  to  be  brought  to  a 
crisis  till  you  return  here  in  January;  that  we  will  mean- 
time keep  silence  and  collect  all  the  evidence  we  can.  I 
shall  find  it  hard  enough  to  hold  out  here  alone.  It  costs 
me  already  the  deepest  self-control  to  look  in  uncle's  face 
and  to  refrain  from  saying  to  him,  'Deceiver  that  you 
are!'  and  to  associate  with  Fliedner,  who  always  looks  so 
peaceful  and  innocent  while  she  is  systematically  helping 
to  rob  us — the  wicked  old  cat!  And  I  really  liked  her. 
It  is  almost  too  much  for  me,  but  it  cannot  be  helped — it 
must  be  borne.  Eckhof  is  right  in  exhorting  us  to  the 
utmost  possible  care  and  caution." 

She  wiped  the  wet  up  off  the  table  and  closed  the  box 
fast  again. 

What  she  did  or  did  not  do,  however,  no  longer  at- 
tracted my  attention.  I  had  taken  up  my  position  be- 
tween the  glass  door  and  the  writing-table  and  stood 
sentry  there.  I  fancied  the  shaking  of  the  ground  con- 
tinued, but  it  was  in  my  own  feet.  Never  in  all  my  life 
had  I  felt  as  I  did  at  that  moment,  when  I  seemed  sud- 
denly as  if  in  iron  bands.  Had  I  been  cast  down  the 
darkest  abyss  I  could  not  have  felt  more  terrified  than  at 
the  sound  of  that  warm  whisper  from  a  half-stifled  voice. 
The  words,  indeed,  were  but  half-intelligible  to  me,  yet 
they  sent  the  blood  to  my  cheeks  and  temples.  Had  I  fol- 
lowed my  own  wish  I  should  have  left  everything  behind 
me  and  run  off  as  far  as  my  feet  would  carry  me;  but  the 
fear  that  the  writing-table  might  then,  in  spite  of  all,  be 
broken  open  held  me  back. 

"Those  are  our  arms,  little  one — look  at  them,"  said 
Charlotte,  at  last  coming  over  to  me  again.  She  held  a 
signet  ring  with  a  cut  stone  in  it  toward  me.  "Papa,  in- 
deed, never  wore  rings,  as  her  highness  affirmed  to-day. 
Nevertheless  this  one  exists  and  has  evidently  been  often 
used  as  a  seal;  it  lay  among  papa's  writing-materials.  I 
will  take  it  with  me — the  only  thing  I  will  claim  before- 
hand." 

She  slipped  the  ring  into  her  pocket.  I  was  released. 
We  went  back  and  the  press  was  pushed  back  into  its 
place. 


226  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

As  the  lawful  heirs  of  Freiherr  Lothar  von  Claudius,  as 
indirect  branches  of  the  ducal  house,  did  the  brother  and 
sister  descend  the  gloomy  staircase  which  Charlotte  had  as- 
cended still  under  the  torturing  influence  of  doubt. 

Clear  as  day  lay  the  solution  of  the  mystery  there — to 
me  also.  How,  then,  could  Herr  Claudius  with  an  open 
brow  and  firm  voice  have  denied  the  truth?  In  spite  of 
all,  let  the  matter  be  as  it  might,  I  knew  he  had  not  told 
a  lie. 


XXV. 

CHARLOTTE  seized  her  shawl,  but  dropped  it  quickly 
again  in  alarm,  and  running  to  the  window  threw  it  open. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Herr  Eckhof?"  she  called  out. 

The  old  bookkeeper  was  running  across  the  gravel  path 
toward  the  house.  He  had  no  hat  on,  and  his  face,  gen- 
erally so  self-controlled,  was  deeply  agitated.  He  was 
evidently  much  excited. 

"There  has  been  a  water-spout  in  Dorotheenthal," 
he  replied  breathlessly.  "At  least  40.000  thalers 
loss  for  the  Firma  Claudius!  Everything  that  we  have 
cherished  and  tended  with  so  much  care  for  years  past  out 
there  is  now  ruined  and  destroyed!  Do  you  hear  the 
signals  of  distress?  There  must  be  people  in  danger  too." 

Dorotheenthal  was  a  property  belonging  to  the  Claudius 
family,  a  very  ancient  and  once  noble  mansion  which,  to- 
gether with  the  village,  lay  at  the  foot  of  a  somewhat  nar- 
row valley.  The  firm  carried  on  its  business  much  more 
extensively  in  the  demesne  of  Dorotheenthal  than  in  the 
gardens  at  K.  The  young  plantations  were  entirely  con- 
fined to  that  district,  and  the  rare  specimens  of  young 
pine  trees  which  had  been  raised  there  had  won  for  Doro- 
theenthal a  degree  of  renown.  Each  peculiar  species  of 
flower  was  sown  in  fields  there,  and  houses  full  of  ananas, 
orchids,  and  cactuses  surrounded  the  house  in  considerable 
numbers.  A  few  small  lakes  and  a  pretty  little  river 
which  ran  through  the  valley  assisted  not  a  little  in  the 
carrying  on  of  this  gigantic  concern.  Now,  however,  the 
assistant  element  had  turned  into  a  destroying  fiend.  The 
lakes  had  overflowed  and  the  river,  bursting  through  a 
dam,  had,  as  Eckhof  had  announced  before  he  disappeared 
in  the  hall,  united  with  them. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  227 

"What  a  misfortune!"  exclaimed  Charlotte,  turning 
deadly  pale  and  wringing  her  hands. 

"Nonsense — what  are  you  frightened  at?"  said  Dago- 
bert,  shrugging  his  shoulders.  "What  are  40,000 
thalers  to  Uncle  Eric?  He  can  get  over  it — and  in  any 
case,  what  is  it  to  us?  That  is  his  affair — our  inheritance 
won't  be  a  penny  the  less!  No  doubt  he  will  make  wry 
faces,  and  what  I  shall  get  at  my  departure  the  day  after 
to-morrow  will  be  little  enough.  Indeed,  on  my  own  ac- 
count I  should  have  been  better  pleased  il  the  business 
had  all  been  in  good  order." 

The  last  words  were  almost  lost  upon  us.  Charlotte  ran 
out  and  I  after  her.  People  in  danger!  How  dreadful 
that  sounded.  I  must  know  more.  I  could  not  remain 
in  the  Carolinenlust  alone.  Charlotte  had  given  me  her 
arm,  and  we  ran  thus  over  the  foaming  river,  pelted  with- 
out intermission  by  the  rain,  and  through  the  now  flooded, 
dripping  garden  to  the  front  house. 

Here  and  there  we  met  garden  assistants  with  terrified 
faces  on  the  way,  and  in  the  distance  we  could  already  dis- 
cern the  noise  of  voices  calling  to  each  other  as  the  sound 
came  to  us  over  the  yard  wall.  Nearly  all  the  work-people 
of  the  establishment  were  gathered  together  when  we  en- 
tered the  yard,  and  Herr  Claudius'  carriage  was  standing 
at  the  door.  He  himself  was  just  coming  out  equipped  in 
a  great-coat  and  hat  in  hand.  It  seemed  as  though  a 
soothing  power  proceeded  from  his  presence— the  noise 
ceased.  He  gave  some  orders.  His  quiet,  dignified  move- 
ments were  in  no  wise  marred  by  any  hurry  or  fuss.  One 
felt  that  the  fair  head  with  the  grave  expression  yonder 
would  maintain  the  mastery  in  every  situation  in  life. 

On  our  appearance  the  people  stepped  back  and  let  us 
pass.  I  was  still  hanging  on  Charlotte's  arm.  Just  then 
Herr  Claudius  observed  us  crossing  the  yard.  It  seemed 
almost  as  if  he  started ;  a  glance  as  of  anger  crossed  his  un- 
covered brow;  he  frowned  and  from  beneath  his  knitted 
brow  shot  a  look  of  slow,  reproving  disapprobation.  I  cast 
down  my  eyes  and  drew  my  arm  away  from  that  of  my 
companion. 

"Uncle  Eric,  that  is  a  severe  blow,"  exclaimed  Char- 
lotte, approaching  him  as  he  stood  at  the  door. 

"Yes,"  be  replied  simply,  without  any  further  observa- 
tion. He  then  turned  back  into  the  hall,  where  Fraulein 
Fliedner  was  standipg. 


228  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"My  dear  Fliedner,  will  you  see  that  Fraulein  von  Sas- 
sen  gets  on  dry  clothes  immediately?  I  make  you  respon- 
sible for  it,  mind!"  he  said  in  his  ordinary  calm  manner, 
pointing  at  the  same  time  to  my  dirty,  wretchedly  soaked- 
through  gatin  shoes  and  my  dripping  frock.  To  my  face 
he  did  not  vouchsafe  another  glance. 

He  mounted  the  box  rapidly  and  seized  the  reins. 

"Take  me  with  you  to  Dorotheenthal,  uncle,"  said 
Dagobert,  who  appeared  just  then  in  company  with  the 
bookkeeper,  now  equipped  in  hat  and  cloak. 

"There  is  no  room,  as  you  may  see,"  replied  Herr 
Claudius  curtly,  pointing  to  a  number  of  workingmen  who 
with  anxious  faces  mounted  after  Eckhof.  They  came 
from  Dorotheenthal. 

The  carriage  rolled  off,  and  Fraulein  Fliedner,  taking 
my  hand,  led  me  into  her  own  room.  Charlotte  followed 
us. 

"You  are  really  like  a  drowned  rat,"  said  she  to  me  as 
Fraulein  Flieduer  brought  forward  dry  clothes.  "It  was 
most  extraordinary  that  Uncle  Eric,  with  his  bartering 
mind,  should  at  such  a  moment  have  observed  it." 

"You  may  infer  from  that  that  his  mind  is  not  given  to 
bartering,"  replied  Fraulein  Fliedner.  Her  gentle  face 
was  still  pale  with  terror,  and  now  a  bitter,  harsh  expres- 
sion crossed  her  lips.  "I  have  often  begged  you  not  to 
give  expression  to  such  hard  and  unjust  remarks  in  my 
presence.  I  really  cannot  bear  them." 

"So — but  you  keep  silence,  and  think  it  all  right  when 
my  uncle  reads  me  a  lecture  and  in  his  cold,  cruelly  calm 
manner  does  not  deal  very  gently  with  me,"  she  exclaimed 
hotly.  "If  he  were  an  old  man,  to  whom  respect  was  due, 
I  could  bear  it  better;  but  my  pride  rebels  against  this 
man,  with  his  ardent  eye,  who  possesses,  in  comparison 
with  my  brother  and  myself,  not  so  much  experience  as 
superior  power.  He  treats  us  badly!" 

"That  is  not  true,"  replied  Fraulein  Fliedner  decidedly. 
"He  only  seeks  to  suppress  those  tendencies  which  he 
ought  not  to  suffer.  Of  course  when  you  act  independ- 
ently and  indiscreetly  you  must  be  prepared  to  receive 
correction,  Charlotte.  Something  occurred  this  very  day 
which  you  might  have  avoided.  While  Herr  Claudius 
was  in  the  conservatory  with  the  princess  our  house  car- 
penter took  the  measure  of  every  window  in  your  apart- 
ments— he  said  you  had  jgdered  blinds." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  229 

"Well,  yes,  I  did.  I  have  borne  the  sun  long  enough 
and  patiently  shining  in  on  my  unfortunate  skin,"  inter- 
rupted Charlotte  sullenly.  "There  should  be  blinds  on 
the  sunny  side " 

"Quite  true;  but  it  would  have  been  nothing  more  than 
proper  to  have  asked  Herr  Claudius  about  it.  It  is  his 
house  and  his  money  you  are  thus  disposing  of." 

"Well,  the  time  will  yet  come  when  I  shall  no  longer 
have  to  listen  to  the  clanking  of  these  chains,"  cried 
Charlotte,  giving  way  to  her  passion. 

"Who  knows  but  that  then  you  may  one  day  long  for 
them  again?"  said  Fraulein  Fliedner  very  quietly. 

"Do  you  think  so,  my  good  Fliedner?"  The  mocking 
scorn  in  the  young  girl's  voice  sounded  fearful.  "A  de- 
pressing prognostication !  Nevertheless,  I  am  so  bold  as 
to  hope — indeed,  to  expect  decidedly  that  Providence  has 
better  intentions  with  regard  to  me." 

She  walked  toward  the  door. 

"Won't  you  take  tea  with  me?"  asked  Fraulein  Flied- 
ner as  kindly  and  gently  as  though  there  had  not  been  a 
bitter  word  exchanged.  "I  will  prepare  it  at  once.  I  am 
responsible  for  Fraulein  von  Sassen's  health  and  must  en- 
deavor to  avert  all  possibility  of  cold." 

"No,  thank  you,"  replied  Charlotte,  looking  back  from, 
the  door  and  answering  coldly.  "I  wish  to  be  with  my 
brother  alone.  Send  me  up  the  tea-pot,  but  the  little 
silver  one,  if  you  please.  I  don't  intend  to  use  brass  any 
longer,  not  even  if  Ddrte  makes  it  shine  like  gold.  Adieu, 
princess!" 

She  slammed  the  door  to  and  hastened  upstairs  with 
heavy  steps.  Almost  immediately  after  harsh  chords  rang 
through  the  hitherto  quiet  house.  The  old  lady  shrank 
back. 

"Oh,  how  inconsiderate,"  she  murmured  to  herself. 
'Every  note  falls  like  a  blow  upon  my  anxious  heart." 

"I  will  go  and  beg  of  her  to  stop,"  I  said,  springing  to 
the  door. 

"No,  no,  don't  do  that,"  she  said,  holding  me  back  nerv- 
ously. "That  has  become  her  habit  when  she  leaves  us 
in  ill-temper,  and  we  always  allow  her  to  vent  it  thus. 
But  to-day,  just  at  this  time  of  anxiety  and  sorrow — what 
must  the  people  in  the  house  think?  She  seems  much 
more  heartless  than  she  really  is,"  she  added  in  a  grieved 
tone. 


230  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

She  settled  me  up  deep  in  the  sofa  cushions  and  began  to 
prepare  the  tea.  At  any  other  time  it  would  have  seemed 
unsociable  enough  in  the  old  lady's  old-fashioned  apart- 
ment. The  tea-kettle  sang;  outside  the  wind  went  sigh- 
ing through  the  empty  streets  and  the  rain  pattered  in 
measured  time  against  the  window-panes.  The  quiet, 
smiling  face  in  the  pagoda  behind  the  glass  nodded  con- 
tentedly into  the  darkening  room,  and  the  irritable  little 
Pinscher  lay  lazily  buried  in  evident  comfort  on  the  pil- 
low. Still  Fraulein  Fliedner's  hands  trembled  as  she  but- 
tered the  bread — I  could  see  them — and  Dorte,  the  old 
cook,  who  just  then  entered  with  a  plate  of  baked  bread, 
asked  with  an  anxious  sigh: 

"How  are  things  going  on  out  there,  Friiulein  Flied- 
ner?" 

My  heart  beat  with  an  inexplicable  anxiety.  I  felt  a 
burning  pain  every  time  it  occurred  to  me  that  Herr 
Claudius  had  parted  from  me  in  anger,  and  to  my  own 
torment  I  was  forced  to  think  of  it  perpetually.  How 
childishly  willful  and  contradictory  I  must  have  appeared 
to  him  as  I  came  over,  leaning  on  Charlotte's  arm.  And 
notwithstanding  all  that  he  had  still  shown  care  for  me — 
care  for  an  insignificant  little  being  like  me  at  such  a  mo- 
ment when  he  had  just  met  with  such  a  heavy  misfortune! 
My  teeth  chattered  softly,  and  with  a  nervous  shudder  I 
sank  still  deeper  into  the  sofa  corner.  At  Fraulein  Flied- 
ner's earnest  request  I  swallowed  a  cup  of  hot  tea.  The 
old  lady  herself  took  nothing;  she  sat  quietly  by  me. 

"Is  Herr  Claudius  also  in  danger  out  there?"  at  length 
burst  from  my  lips. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"I  fear  so.  Dangerous  it  must  be.  Water  is  even 
worse  than  fire,  and  Herr  Claudius  is  not  the  man  to  think 
of  himself  at  such  a  moment;  but  he  is  in  God's  hand,  my 
child." 

That  did  nothing  toward  lightening  my  heart.  How 
often  had  I  read  of  people  having  been  drowned,  innocent 
people  who  had  committed  no  crime — and  he  had  a  mur- 
der on  his  conscience!  Was  a  murderer  also  in  God's 
hand?  The  anxiety  I  suffered  drove  me  involuntarily  to 
speak  out. 

"But  he  is  guilty  of  a  man's  death,"  I  said  in  a  sup- 
pressed voice  without  looking  up.  The  old  lady  shrank 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOE.  231 

back,  and  for  the  first  time  I  observed  an  expression  of  in- 
tense disgust  flash  from  her  soft  eyes. 

"Abominable!  Who  has  told  you  that  already  and  in 
such  a  reckless  way?"  she  said  in  great  excitement.  She 
stood  up  and  went  over  to  the  window  for  a  few  minutes; 
then  she  came  back,  sat  down  beside  me,  and  took  both 
my  hands  in  hers. 

"Do  you  know  the  circumstances  about  it?"  she  asked 
more  composedly. 

I  shook  my  head. 

"Then  your  young  and  inexperienced  mind  may  well 
form  a  horrible  picture  out  of  it.  I  can  easily  fancy  that. 
Poor  Eric!  It  is  indeed  the  darkest  spot  in  his  life;  but, 
my  child,  he  was  a  very  young  man  at  that  time,  scarcely 
twenty-one;  a  young  man  of  a  passionate  and  enthusiastic 
temperament.  He  loved  a  lady;  loved  her  so — well,  I 
cannot  enter  into  the  details  of  that  with  you.  He  had  a 
friend,  too,  in  whom  he  placed  the  most  perfect  confidence 
and  for  whom  he  had  sacrificed  much.  One  day  he  dis- 
covered beyond  a  doubt  that  the  lady  and  his  friend  had 
both  deceived  him,  that  both  were  false.  A  violent  scene 
took  place  and  words  passed  which  in  men's  opinion,  ac- 
cording to  the  present  horrible  fashion,  can  only  be  wiped 
out  in  blood.  They  fought  a  duel  about  the  treacherous 
woman.  The  friend " 

"Young  Eckhof,"  I  hastily  broke  in. 

"Yes,  the  bookkeeper's  son.  A  shot  lodged  in  his 
shoulder  and  Herr  Claudius'  head  was  a  good  deal  injured. 
The  weakness  in  his  eyes  is  a  relic  of  that  time.  Eckhof 'a 
wound  was  not  dangerous  in  itself,  but  his  already  en- 
feebled and  shattered  constitution  gave  way  beneath  the 
blow,  and  after  a  few  weeks'  confinement  to  a  sick-bed  he 
died,  in  spite  of  every  effort  on  the  part  of  the  most  cele- 
brated surgeons " 

"And  the  lady— the  lady?"  I  inquired  eagerly. 

"The  lady,  my  dear  child,  had  left  Paris  long  before 
Herr  Claudius  rose  from  his  sick-bed.  She  went  away 
with  an  Englishman." 

"She  was  the  cause  of  his  sufferings  and  never  came  to 
crave  forgiveness  or  to  nurse  him?" 

"My  little  girl,  she  was  an  actress.  She  took  this  sacri- 
fice of  life  and  health  as  the  homage  due  to  her  dangerous 
charmg,  and  felt  in  no  wiie  called  upon  to  ask  forgiveness, 


232  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

still  less  to  heal  the  wound  her  cruelty  had  dealt.  Not 
long  after  his  recovery  Herr  Claudius  came  here — his 
brother  was  dead  and  had  left  many  arrangements  to  be 
carried  out  by  his  heir.  I  saw  him  again  after  a  long 
period  of  separation,  and  never  in  my  life  have  I  seen  any 
one  suffer  like  that  poor  young -heart,  torn  up  at  its  very 
foundations!" 

"Had  he  remorse  of  conscience?" 

"Not  so  much  that.  He  could  not  forget  the  lady.  He 
used  to  rush  through  the  garden  like  one  deranged  or 
keep  striking  chords  wildly  on  the  piano." 

"The  grave,  quiet  Herr  Claudius?"  I  inquired,  breath- 
less with  surprise. 

"He  wasn't  so  then.  He  sought  for  calm  and  soothing 
in  music,  and  how  he  played !  I  can  easily  understand 
how  Charlotte's  'strumming'  must  at  times  torment  him. 
He  did  not  remain  long  here.  He  wandered  another  year 
about  the  world  without  any  object,  and  then  he  came 
back  once  more  completely  changed.  He  took  his  busi- 
ness in  hand  as  the  grave,  silent,  stern  man  you  see  him 
now.  I  have  never  heard  him  strike  a  note  since,  never 
heard  a  passionate  word  from  his  lips,  never  seen  a  violent 
action  on  his  part.  He  had  conquered  in  a  different  way 
to  his  brother,  who  sank  under  his  affliction.  His  strong 
mind  guided  him  to  the  real  means  of  cure  for  mental 
anguish — work — so  he  became  then  just  what  he  is  now,  a 
worker  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word,  a  character  of 
steel  who  sees  in  order  and  activity  the  healing  waters  for 
men's  minds  and  would  willingly  see  them  universally 
made  use  of." 

Fraulein  Fliedner  had  spoken  with  an  animation  such 
as  I  had  never  yet  seen  in  the  old  lady,  who,  though  al- 
ways sweet  and  amiable,  was  at  the  same  time  very  re- 
served. I  sat  beside  her,  gazing  with  a  beating  heart  into 
the  new  world  which  had  been  revealed  to  me.  This  pas- 
sionate love  of  a  man  for  a  woman  was  a  marvel  to  me. 
My  greatest  favorites  among  the  fairy-tales  lost  all  their 
charm  and  brilliancy  when  placed  beside  this  narrative 
from  real  life.  And  that  man  who  had  been  unable  to 
forget  the  faithless  lady,  who  had  been  chased  through  the 
garden  like  one  demented  by  extreme  agony  for  her  loss — 
that  man  was  Herr  Claudius.  He  could  really  thus  take 
a  thing  to  heart! 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  233 

"Does  he  love  the  lady  still?"  I  inquired,  breaking  the 
sudden  silence. 

"My  child,  I  cannot  answer  that,"  said  the  old  lady, 
smiling.  "Do  you  really  think  that  anybody  knows  what 
goes  on  in  Herr  Claudius'  mind?  You  know  his  face  and 
form  and  you  yourself  call  it  grave  and  quiet;  but  his 
mind  is  a  sealed  book  to  everyone.  Besides,  I  can  scarcely 
think  it  possible.  He  must  now  despise  the  lady." 

It  had  grown  dark.  Fraulein  Fliedner  had  opened  a 
window  previously;  the  heavy  rain  had  ceased.  It  was 
very  quiet  in  the  retired  Mauerstrasse,  but  in  the  distance 
we  could  hear  the  hum  of  people  moving  about  in  the 
crowded  squares  toward  the  center  of  the  town.  The 
lamps  appeared  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  one  by 
one.  They  were  reflected  in  the  dismal  pools  on  the  pave- 
ment and  showed  how  dark  and  gloomy  the  sky  still  hung 
over  the  town.  Their  faint  glimmer  lighted  even  the  room 
where  we  sat  close  to  each  other  without  uttering  a  word, 
and  I  begged  Fraulein  Fliedner  not  to  light  the  lamps — 
there  was  light  enough.  The  fact  was  I  was  afraid  to  see 
the  old  lady's  face,  for  I  knew  it  would  look  full  of  anxiety 
and  deep  distress. 

Just  then  I  heard  steps  on  the  footpath  and  a  voice  say- 
ing rapidly  as  it  passed  under  the  open  window: 

"A  lame  woman  who  was  unable  to  save  herself  has  been 
drowned.  They  say  it  is  dreadful  out  there." 

We  started  up,  and  Fraulein  Flieduer  began  pacing  up 
and  down  the  room.  We  heard  talking  going  on  at  the 
same  time  in  the  hall. 

"Is  there  no  news  yet  from  Dorotheenthal?"  inquired 
Charlotte  over  the  banisters  as  Fraulein  Fliedner  opened 
the  door. 

"None  of  our  people  are  back  yet,"  replied  old  Erd- 
mann.  He  was  standing  among  the  household  servants, 
and  his  voice  trembled  as  he  spoke.  "But  other  people 
say  it  is  too  awful  out  there,  and  our  master  was  the  first 
man  to  the  rescue.  God  have  mercy  on  him !  Little  he 
cares  if  the  silver  cord  is  to  be  loosed  for  him.  Other 
people  were  there  too — the  duke,  they  say,  among  them." 

"What,  his  highness  himself?"  called  out  Dagobert. 

Erdmann  replied  in  the  affirmative.  The  door  upstairs 
was  slammed  to,  but  immediately  afterward  the  young  lieu- 
tenant appeared  on  the  stairs.  He  had.  his  horse  brought 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

out  and  galloped  off,  the  young  Tancred— how  mean  he 
seemed  to  me  now. 

I  cowered  once  more  in  the  corner  of  the  sofa,  while 
Fraulein  Fliedner  took  up  her  place  in  a  window,  sighing 
deeply.  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  water  raging 
over  the  earth  and  suffocating  every  one  unable  to  save 
himself.  How  dreadful  it  must  be  to  sink  beneath  the 
surging  waters.  But  "Herr  Claudius  cares  little  if  the 
silver  cord  be  loosed  for  him."  As  old  Erdmann  had  said, 
he  no  longer  cared  either  for  the  world,  mankind,  or  yet 
his  own  life;  and  he  was  right.  The  lady  whom  he  could 
not  forget  had  been  false,  the  brother  and  sister  and  the 
old  bookkeeper  were  all  the  same,  and  I  to  whom  he  had 
shown  so  much  kindness  had  been  but  a  few  hours  pre- 
viously busily  employed  in  bringing  crushing  proofs  to 
light  against  him  and  his  mode  of  acting.  Fraulein  Flied- 
ner alone  clung  to  him,  and  it  was  with  a  sensation  of 
envy  that  I  looked  over  at  the  small,  delicate  form  which 
kept  ceaseless  watch  at  the  window.  She  had  a  good  con- 
science; she  had  never  done  anything  to  hurt  him;  she 
need  not  reproach  herself  if — if  the  waters  were  to  close 
forever  over  that  fair  and  noble  head.  I  very  nearly 
screamed  aloud  as  I  thought  of  this  possibility,  but  I 
clinched  my  teeth  and  began  once  more  to  listen  anxiously 
to  every  step,  to  the  sound  of  every  wheel. 

Thus  passed  hour  after  hour.  My  father  had  not  re- 
turned yet  either.  Erdmann  had,  by  Fraulein  Fliedner's 
order,  gone  over  to  the  Carolinenlust  to  see.  The  excite- 
ment in  the  town  had  not  yet  quite  subsided,  but  it  had 
become  considerably  quieter.  It  was  midnight  when  a 
carriage  turned  into  the  Mauerstrasse.  With  an  exclama- 
tion half  of  alarm,  half  of  joy,  the  old  lady  sprang  up,  and 
I  flew  through  the  hall  and  tore  open  the  hall  door.  A 
palpable  darkness  lay  over  the  earth,  but  heeding  it  not,  I 
rushed  forth  to  meet  the  approaching  vehicle. 

"Is  it  you  yourself,  Herr  Claudius?"  I  called  out  in  a 
trembling  voice  above  the  clatter  of  the  wheels. 

"Yes,"  sounded  from  the  box. 

"God  be  praised!" 

I  pressed  my  hands  against  my  breast.  I  felt  as  though 
my  now  unburdened  heart  would  burst  its  bounds. 

And  now  the  people  of  the  house  all  came  out  and 
pressed  around  the  carriage.  Herr  Claudius  got  down, 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  235 

"Is  it  really  so  bad,  sir?"  asked  Erdmann  of  Herr 
Claudius.  "Keally  40,000  thalers'  loss,  as  Schafer  says?" 

"The  injury  is  greater.  It  is  a  wilderness  once  more. 
We  must  begin  again  from  the  beginning  at  Dorotheen- 
thal.  I  am  only  sorry  for  my  young  pines — not  one  left!" 
he  said,  moved.  "Well,  all  that  can  be  remedied  in  time; 
but  here " 

He  stopped,  opened  the  carriage  door,  and  helped  some 
one  carefully  down  the  steps.  The  light  of  several  lamps 
now  streamed  through  the  yard  gate  and  fell  on  a  young 
girl,  who,  partially  supported  by  Herr  Claudius,  stepped 
on  the  pavement.  A  spasmodic  sob  shook  the  tender 
bowed-down  form,  and  her  uncovered  hair  fell  in  disorder 
over  a  beautiful  but  agonized  face,  in  which  the  sorrow  of 
despair  was  visible. 

"Her  mother  has  been  drowned,"  whispered  those  who 
had  accompanied  them. 

Herr  Claudius  caught  her  more  firmly  and  led  her  up 
the  steps.  He  passed  close  to  me  in  the  dark.  His 
clothes  were  wet  through. 

On  the  top  step  stood  Fraulein  Fliedner,  stretching  out 
her  hands  toward  him;  what  he  said  I  did  not  understand. 
A  sudden  shyness  and  inexplicable  feeling  of  pain  had 
made  me  shrink  away  from  the  other  people,  but  I  saw  the 
old  lady  lay  the  weeping  one's  arm  gently  in  her  own  and 
lead  her  away.  Herr  Claudius  remained  a  few  moments 
longer  above,  talking  to  Charlotte.  It  did  not  escape  me 
that  he  looked  searchingly  around.  Had  he,  then,  recog- 
nized my  voice  in  the  yard,  after  all,  and  did  he  want  to 
convince  himself  that  it  really  had  been  me,  with  whom 
he  was  so  angry?  What  absurd  thoughts!  He  had  some- 
thing more  important  to  think  of  now.  How  great  the 
misfortunes  he  had  witnessed  to-day,  and  what  weighty 
affairs  now  lay  on  his  shoulders!  Had  he  not  just  led  an 
afflicted  orphan  girl  into  his  house — led  her  in  with  tender 
care  and  deep  sympathy?  She  was  not  ungrateful  like 
me;  she  did  not  spurn  the  hand  that  sought  to  support 
her.  Trustfully  had  she  yielded  herself  to  the  arm  that 
upheld  her,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  that  was  he  to  remem- 
ber the  willful  haide  child?  Certainly  not! 

He  came  downstairs  again,  stood  at  the  door,  and  gazed 
into  the  darkness.  Meantime  another  gentleman  had  got 
out  of  the  carriage,  who  went  to  meet  him.  I  recognized. 


236  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

my  father.  In  unspeakable  amazement  I  belield  him  offer 
his  hand  to  the  despised  "Kramer"  with  the  utmost  cor- 
diality and  part  from  him  with  warm  thanks.  I  joined 
him  in  the  garden  and  slipped  my  hand  into  his  arm.  He 
was  greatly  surprised,  and  indeed  could  scarcely  bring 
himself  to  believe  that  his  little  daughter  could  be  up  and 
in  the  open  air  at  such  an  hour.  He  had  accompanied  the 
duke  to  Dorotheenthal,  and  then,  for  shortness,  returned 
in  Herr  Claudius'  carriage. 

"What  a  man!"  he  exclaimed,  standing  still.  "The 
duke  is  perfectly  enchanted  with  his  calm  and  quietude 
and  with  the  dignity  with  which  he  meets  such  an  enor- 
mous loss.  I  took  the  man  for  a  mere  arithmetical  ma- 
chine. I  must  beg  his  pardon  for  it." 

Yes,  what  a  man,  indeed!  "Well,  all  that  can  be  re- 
paired in  time,  but  here "  In  these  few  simple  words 

had  he  placed  his  own  enormous  pecuniary  loss  in  com- 
parison with  that  of  the  young  girl.  And  that  was  the 
niggardly  uncle,  the  cold-blooded  miser.  No,  no,  "a 
worker  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word,"  but  not  merely 
on  account  of  the  gain,  but  because  he  saw  the  means  of 
his  mind's  healing  in  order  and  activity.  Ah !  I  already 
began  to  understand  him  better. 

That  night  I  never  went  to  bed.  I  sat  down  in  a  corner 
of  the  window  and  waited  for  the  morning  dawn.  With 
that  day,  which  rose  so  pale  behind  the  trees,  I  would  be- 
gin a  new  life. 


XXVI. 

THE  following  afternoon  I  took  the  garden  gate  key, 
^hich  had  been  confided  to  me,  and  went  over  to  the 
Swiss  cottage.  I  knew  that  Gretcheii's  father  was  teacher 
at  the  first  girls'  school  in  K.,  and  I  intended  him  to  be 
my  assistant  in  becoming  aiiother  person.  No  long  intro- 
duction was  requisite.  Frau  Helldorf  recognized  me  again 
immediately,  and  as  I  learned  later  Schiifer,  the  gardener, 
had  already  related  plenty  of  stories  about  the  wild,  sin- 
gular, and  so  unexpected  appearance  of  the  "learned  gentle- 
man's" child.  Gretchen  threw  her  arms  round  my  neck. 
The  occurrence  in  the  garden,  which  had  been  my  fault, 
was  nbt  once  mentioned. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  337 

"Will  you  instruct  me?"  I  asked  Herr  Helldorf,  who 
sat  correcting  an  enormous  pile  of  copy-books.  "I  will 
learn  as  much  as  it  is  possible  to  cram  into  my  brains.  I 
am  already  such  a  grown-up  girl,  and  don't  even  know 
how  to  write." 

He  smiled  and  so  did  his  charming  little  wife,  and  we 
forthwith  entered  into  a  compact,  according  to  which  I 
was  to  be  free  to  come  and  go  as  a  child  of  the  house  and 
to  receive  daily  at  least  three  hours  of  solid  instruction.  I 
informed  Fraulein  Fliedner  of  this  compact.  She  ex- 
pressed herself  as  thoroughly  well  satisfied  with  it,  and 
also  undertook  at  my  request  to  arrange  about  the  pay- 
ment for  my  lessons,  so  that  I  was  not  obliged  to  appear 
in  Herr  Claudius'  office. 

From  that  time  I  was  unwearied  in  my  application.  To 
be  sure,  the  pen  was  often  enough  thrown  under  the  table 
at  the  commencement,  and  I  fled  with  burning  temples 
and  streaming  eyes  deep  into  the  wood;  but  I  always  re- 
turned nevertheless,  though  heaving  many  a  sigh,  and 
picking  up  the  small  steel  tyrant  wrote  on,  till  the  copy- 
ing gradually  ceased  and  the  firm  fair  characters  began  to 
flow  rapidly  over  the  paper  and  became  the  exponents  of 
thought:  then  it  seemed  as  if  scales  fell  from  my  eyes! 
To  my  teacher's  great  joy  I  made  incredibly  rapid  prog- 
ress, and  my  very  limited  departments  of  instruction  at 
the  commencement  now  extended  itself  to  music.  Here 
my  own  natural  taste  came  to  my  assistance,  and  I  was 
soon  able  to  stand  by  the  younger  Herr  Helldorf  at  the 
piano  and  sing  duets  with  him. 

This  intercourse  at  the  Swiss  cottage,  which  my  father 
approved  of  and  which  Herr  Claudius  and  Fraulein  Flied- 
ner openly  encouraged,  was  looked  upon  in  other  quarters 
with  enraged  and  jealous  eyes.  Eckhof  was  outrageous 
and  Charlotte  indignant  and  spiteful  in  a  way  I  could  not 
understand.  I  now  learned  more  about  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  old  bookkeeper  and  his  daughter.  Helldorf  had 
been  a  student  of  theology  and  was  while  yet  a  student  en- 
gaged to  Anna  Eckhof.  The  old  mystic  had  given  his 
consent,  but  on  condition  that  the  young  man  should  be- 
come a  missionary  when  he  had  completed  his  studies — in- 
deed, a  missionary  formally  bound  by  a  written  confession 
of  the  Lutheran  faith — and  go  out  to  the  East  Indies  with 
his  young  wife.  This  clause  became  gradually  mor« 


238  THE  PRJNCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

more  oppressive  to  the  young  lover,  and  he  finally  declared 
himself  utterly  oppossed  to  it  and  a  decided  enemy  of  all 
pietistical  people  and  their  phraseology.  In  addition  tc 
that,  the  doctor  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  young  girl's 
constitution  was  far  too  delicate  to  enable  her  to  bear  up 
against  the  exciting  life  of  a  missionary's  wife,  full  too  as 
it  must  be  of  privations.  This,  however,  did  not  affect 
the  old  man  in  the  least.  He  was  fanatical  enough  to 
think  that  she  would  be  supported  with  the  requisite 
strength,  and  if  not,  she  would  go  straight  to  her  God  as 
a  true  and  faithful  combatant  for  holy  Church.  He  had 
thrown  her  off  when  Helldorf  had  remained  steadfast  in 
his  refusal  and  she  would  not  give  up  the  man  she  had 
chosen. 

I  could  perfectly  well  understand,  then,  the  old  man's 
ill-humor  at  the  sudden  breaking  down  of  the  partition  wall 
between  the  banished  one's  home  and  the  territory  which 
he  had  hitherto  appropriated  to  himself;  but  what  gave 
rise  to  Charlotte's  enmity  against  my  intercourse  with  the 
schoolmaster's  family?  She  repeatedly  said  to  my  very 
face  that  she  could  not  understand  how  Herr  Claudius 
could  intrust  the  key  of  a  door  which  opened  on  the  high- 
road in  such  heedless,  childish  hands  as  mine — one  fine  day 
we  should  find  the  garden  overrun  with  beggars.  She 
maintained  that  I  had  become  insufferably  insolent  since 
the  Niirnberg  channel  of  information  had  been  opened  to 
me;  that  not  a  trace  of  the  "simple,  charming  haide 
princess"  remained;  and  that  I  had  begun  all  at  once  to 
arrange  my  curls  with  a  degree  of  art  betokening  a  strik- 
ing tendency  to  coquetry.  Still  more  enraged  and  im- 
bittered  was  she,  however,  when  the  music-lessons  began. 
I  often  met  her  behind  the  garden  wall  when  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  lesson  I  used  to  run  in  there  quickly.  "With 
flashing  eyes,  but  still  always  in  an  indifferent,  injured 
manner,  she  remarked  that  the  little  songstress  rejoiced 
in  a  very  strong  throat — she  had  caught  a  few  notes  in 
passing  by;  but  one  Sunday,  when  my  fellow-singer, 
young  Helldorf,  accompanied  me  to  the  garden  gate,  she 
suddenly  emerged  from  the  thicket  and  uttered  a  peal  of 
laughter,  which  she  now  and  then  interrupted  with  a 
scornful  "Allow  me  to  congratulate  you,  Friiulein  von 

' 
it  pasg,  beosiiM  I  really  clicl  not  understand  her  £•*> 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  239 

meaner.  Otherwise  she  commanded  herself  with  regard 
to  the  impending  secret  far  better  than  I  had  expected. 
In  only  two  particulars  did  she  allow  the  increase  of  her 
pride  to  be  seen— in  the  circumstance  of,  to  Fraulein 
Flieduer's  great  annoyance,  never  appearing  at  table  ex- 
cept in  rich  silk  and  in  her  contempt  for  the  burgher 
class.  Young  Helldorf  was  the  person  who  felt  that  most, 
and  Herr  Claudius  encouraged  him  more  and  more  in 
coming  to  the  house.  She  behaved  with  such  coldness 
and  rudeness  to  the  young  man  that  it  often  irritated  me, 
and  all  the  more  because  a  purely  fraternal  affection  had 
gradually  sprung  up  between  and  united  us  in  a  very 
beautiful  bond.  To  my  great  comfort  he  confronted  her 
pride  with  equal  hauteur.  He  completely  ignored  the 
haughty  lady.  I  was  often  a  witness  of  this,  as  I  now  very 
frequently  joined  the  little  circle  at  Herr  Claudius'  tea- 
table,  and  always  accompanied,  indeed,  by  my  father.  A 
tolerably  frequent  intercourse  now  took  place  between 
Herr  Claudius  and  him.  The  former  often  came  into  the 
library,  a  thing  he  had  never  done  formerly;  and  my 
father  often  went  into  the  room  arranged  as  an  observa- 
tory. At  tea  they  always  sat  by  each  other  and  seemed  to 
understand  each  other  very  well,  but  they  never — no  mat- 
ter when  I  happened  to  listen  to  them — touched  on  the 
subject  of  the  medal.  My  position  with  regard  to  Herr 
Claudius  was  not  altered  in  consequence  of  this  inter- 
course. On  the  contrary,  I  kept  myself  more  decidedly 
and  anxiously  out  of  his  way  than  ever;  that  secret  with 
which  I  was  acquainted  stood  between  us.  At  Dagobert's 
return  in  January  they  were  to  take  the  opportunity  for  a 
disclosure.  Were  I  in  the  mean  time  to  seem  friendly  or 
even  to  court  his  notice,  how  false  I  should  then  seem 
when  his  eyes  were  once  opened.  And  yet  another  thing 
made  me  shrink  from  his  presence.  Often,  when  I  was 
engaged  in  conversation  with  others,  if  I  suddenly  looked 
up  I  met  his  eye  fixed  upon  me  in  a  kind  of  melancholy. 
I  knew  too  well  why — he  saw  the  lie  that  stained  my 
youthful  brow.  That  brought  the  blood  to  my  cheek  and 
wakened  up  anew  the  hideous  stubbornness  of  evil.  He 
took  my  repulsive  demeanor  as  something  which  he  had 
never  expected  to  be  different.  He  never  alluded  to  the 
guardianship  with  which  Use  had  intrusted  him,  al 
I  -WAI  well  e  war  §  that  he  kept  incessant  watch 


240  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

every  act,  and  had  actually  put  himself  privately  in  con- 
nection with  the  teacher  whom  I  had  myself  selected.  He 
kept  his  promise  to  Use  faithfully,  irksome  and  burden- 
some as  it  must  in  time  have  become.  A  sudden  terror 
often  overcame  me  as  I  looked  at  him  surrounded  by  his 
guests,  he  himself  seated  in  their  midst  in  his  own  gentle 
gravity  and  calm  bearing,  and  then  saw  the  impending 
secret  hanging  over  his  head  in  the  air.  How  would  he 
come  out  of  all  these  discoveries? 

Three  montns  passed  thus.  I  looked  with  pride  at  the 
firm,  fine  characters  of  my  own  handwriting,  into  which 
I  could  now  infuse  mind  also.  I  had  already  entered  into 
a  correspond,  ^ce,  and  that  a  secret  one,  with  my  Aunt 
Christine.  S..e  had  thanked  me  for  sending  her  the 
money  in  almost  exaggerated  language,  and  informed  me 
that  she  had  put  herself  into  the  hands  of  a  physician  at 
Dresden,  who  gave  her  every  hope  that  her  voice  should 
be  restored.  According  to  her  assurances  I  had  saved  her, 
had  been  her  guardian  angel,  and  was  the  only  being  that 
still  had  sympathy  with  a  poor,  deeply  tried  woman.  She 
again  expressed  the  strongest  desire  to  be  able  some  time 
or  other  to  embrace  me.  This  correspondence  terrified 
me  in  the  highest  degree,  especially  since  I  had  ventured 
timidly  one  day  to  mention  this  unfortunate  aunt  to  my 
father.  He  started  up  and  forbade  me  ever  to  do  so  again, 
remarking  at  the  same  time  angrily  that  he  could  not  un- 
derstand how  Use  could  have  allowed  such  a  piece  of  fam- 
ily misfortune  to  reach  my  ears.  Her  ever  more  and  more 
frequent  letters  caused  me  consequently  the  deepest  anxi- 
ety; still,  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  leave  them  un- 
noticed. 

But  other  cares  also  came  upon  me.  I,  who  but  a  few 
months  previously  did  not  even  know  what  money  was, 
now  counted  every  penny  with  anxiety,  for  they  were 
sorely  wanted.  I  had  undertaken  to  manage  our  little 
household  with  no  small  pleasure,  and  also  not  without 
some  cleverness.  Every  evening  I  arranged  a  pretty  little 
tea-table  in  the  lilrary,  a  comfort  my  father  had  not  ex- 
perienced for  many  a  long  day;  but  that  this  must  all  be 
paid  for  I  was  utterly  ignorant  till  the  maid  one  day 
brought  me  a  long  bill  for  the  outlay. 

"Money?"  exclaimed  my  father,  looking  up  from  his 
papeipln  alarm  as  I  unsuspiciously  handed  him  the 


TffS  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOH.  $J4i 

"My  child,  I  don't  understand— what  for,  then?"  He 
searched  in  his  waistcoat  pockets  and  in  his  coat.  "I  have 
none,  Lorchen,"  he  explained,  shrugging  his  shoulders  and 
in  his  helpless  embarrassment.  "How  is  it,  then — haven't 
I  puid  the  subscription  to  the  hotel  quite  lately?" 

"Yes,  papa,  but  this  is  for  the  little  outlay  on  sup- 
per," I  stammered. 

"Ah,  so."  He  pulled  his  hair  with  both  hands.  "Yes, 
my  child,  that  is  something  quite  new  to  me.  I  never 
took  any — there,"  he  said,  searching  in  his  pocket  for  a 
paper  containing  sugar-stick,  "that  is  very  nourishing  and 
wholesome." 

Oh,  how  I  started  and  how  my  eyes  were  opened  all  at 
once! 

My  father  had  a  considerable  income,  but  denied  him- 
self things  absolutely  necessary  for  the  sake  of  his  collec- 
tions. Hence  that  awfully  emaciated  face,  which  under 
Use's  care  and  mine  had  already  begun  to  assume  a  more 
healthy  appearance.  Even  if  I  had  wished  it,  I  dared  not 
for  his  own  sake  have  consented  to  this  singular  sugar  diet; 
but  the  courage  failed  me  entirely  to  come  forward  now 
with  any  further  request  when  I  saw  that  he  would  give 
hundreds  for  some  discolored  manuscript  or  majolica  vase, 
and  never  think  whether  it  left  him  a  farthing  remaining. 
His  gentle,  lovable  nature,  the  almost  child-like  delight 
with  which  he  showed  me  his  newly  acquired  treasures, 
and  the  deep  respect  I  felt  for  his  knowledge  and  voca- 
tion, all  tended  to  keep  my  mouth  shut. 

I  sought  out  the  little  purse  which  Use  had  left  in  the 
trunk  "in  case  of  necessity"  and  which  I  had  hitherto 
overlooked.  Its  contents  sufficed  for  a  time,  but  now, 
with  the  last  penny,  care  came  once  more.  I  dare  not 
apply  to  Use  with  a  request  of  that  nature,  nor  to  Herr 
Claudius  either.  I  should  be  obliged  to  tell  him  on  every 
occasion  to  what  purpose  the  money  I  thus  drew  was  to  be 
devoted.  I  also  remembered,  now  that  I  was  becoming  a 
better  judge  of  mankind  and  of  circumstances,  that  he  had 
sternly  reprobated  these  very  collections  as  soon  as  any 
such  taste  degenerated  into  a  passion.  I  understood  his 
expression  that  "such  collectors  would  take  the  very  bread 
from  off  the  altar"  much  better  now,  and  dared  not  ex- 
pect, therefore,  that  he  would  yield  to  my  request.  But 
over  what  I  myself  might  earn  he  would  have  no  right.  I 


242  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

should  not  even  need  to  tell  him  to  what  the  proceeds 
were  applied.  This  idea  came  like  a  ray  of  light  to  my 
deliverance. 

The  very  day  after  the  accident  at  Dorotheenthal  I  had 
seen  the  young  girl,  whose  mother  had  been  drowned 
there,  sitting  at  one  of  the  windows  in  the  back  room. 
Her  pretty,  pale  face  was  bent  so  low  and  her  fingers  were 
so  busy  that  I  could  not  succeed  in  catching  a  glimpse  of 
her. 

"What  is  she  doing?"  I  had  inquired  of  Friiulein  Flied- 
ner. 

"She  asked  for  occupation,  because  she  thinks  that  only 
in  that  way  will  she  be  able  to  master  her  sorrow.  She 
writes  the  names  on  the  seed  packets.  Her  father  was  a 
schoolmaster  in  Dorotheenthal  and  she  writes  beauti- 
fully.;' 

This  occurred  to  me  again  when  one  day  Emma,  the 
housemaid,  brought  me  a  long  list  of  what  I  owed  once 
more.  •  I  had  not  another  fartthing  to  dispose  of  and  begged 
a  few  days'  grace  from  her.  Evidently  surprised  and 
perplexed,  she  left  the  room,  and  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  I  went  with  a  beating  heart  toward  the  front 
house.  It  was  Herr  Claudius'  evening  for  receiving  at 
tea.  My  father  was  also  invited,  but  first  he  was  in  at- 
tendance at  the  castle  for  the  purpose  of  welcoming  the 
Princess  Margaret,  who  had  returned  that  day  after  an 
absence  of  three  months. 

I  left  my  cloak  and  hood  in  Friiulein  Fliedner's  room. 

"My  child,"  said  the  old  lady,  looking  a  little  embar- 
rassed and  drawing  my  head  to  her  breast,  "if  your  cash- 
box  should  ever  run  out  you  will  come  to  me,  will  you 
not?" 

I  started.  Emma  had  been  talking,  but  I  would  not 
confess  my  embarrassment  at  that  moment,  at  all  events. 
I  felt  ashamed  for  my  father's  sake.  And  how  would  it 
help  me,  either,  even  were  she  to  lend  me  the  money?  It 
must  be  repaid  all  the  same.  So  I  thanked  her  warmly 
and  proceeded  with  tolerably  steady  steps  toward  the  office 
for  the  first  time  since  Use  left. 

As  I  approached  I  could  hear  Herr  Claudius  walking  up 
and  down.  As  I  opened  the  door  he  turned  round  at  the 
noise  and  stood  with  his  hands  folded  behind  him.  His 
the  only  table  on  which  there  was  a  lamp  burning, 


THIS  PRINCESS  OF  1  HE  MOOR.  343 

and  on  it  there  was  a  green  shade;  all  the  other  gentle- 
men had  left  the  office. 

A  shudder  ran  through  me.  The  tall,  slight  man  there 
had  jnst  been  pacing  up  and  down  the  room  with  hasty 
strides,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  days  when  a 
passionate  sorrow  had  made  him  pace  about  the  garden  so 
restlessly.  My  appearance  in  the  office  seemed  to  astonish 
him  greatly.  Almost  involuntarily  he  caught  the  lamp 
shade  and  raised  it,  so  as  to  throw  its  whole  light  on  my 
shy,  hesitating  person  as  I  stood  in  the  doorway.  I  felt  as 
much  pain  as  if  I  had  suddenly  been  placed  in  the  pillory; 
but  I  gathered  all  my  energies  together,  walked  up  to  him, 
and  with  a  slight  and  very  unsuccessful  bow  laid  a  paper 
on  the  writing-table  before  him. 

"Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  examine  this  handwriting?" 
I  said,  with  downcast  eyes. 

He  took  up  the  paper. 

"Nice,  characteristic  writing.  The  characters  are  firm 
and  steady,  look  almost  as  if  they  were  harnessed  there, 
and  are  yet  not  wanting  in  elegance,"  he  said  as  with  a 
slight  smile  he  turned  his  face  toward  me.  "One  would 
think  the  writer  had  drawn  on  an  iron  glove  in  order  to 
mask  a  delicate  white  little  hand." 

"Then  they  are  nice;  but  are  they  useful  too?  I  should 
be  glad  of  it,"  I  said  nervously. 

"Ah,  so  you  have  a  deeper  interest  in  it  than  I  thought. 
You  wrote  that  yourself?" 

"Yes." 

"And  what  do  you  mean  by  useful?  Is  it  not  enough 
that  you  can  all  at  once  write  so  nicely  and — one  can  see  it 
in  the  writing — so  rapidly  and  with  so  much  ease?" 

"Oh,  no,  not  nearly,"  I  replied  in  haste.  "I  want  to 
write  so  that — that  I  might  be  intrusted  with  work."  It 
was  out  now  and  I  began  to  take  courage.  "I  know,  too, 
that  you  allow  women  to  write  the  names  upon  the  packets 
of  seeds.  Will  you  try  me?  I  will  take  the  greatest 
trouble  and  write  it  exactly  after  the  pattern." 

I  looked  up  at  him,  but  let  iny  eyes  fall  again  instantly 
— his  blue  eyes  were  fixed  with  such  an  ardent  yet  sym- 
pathetic gaze  on  my  face.  They  were  so  glowing  with 
such  animation  it  was  impossible  to  believe  that  they  be- 
longed to  that  ordinarily  calm,  self-possessed  being. 

"You  want  to  work  for  money?"  he  asked  in  his  usual 


244  THE  PRINCESS  Of  THE  MOOR. 

quiet,  almost  business-like  tone.  "Did  it  not  occur  to 
you  that  you  do  not  require  to  do  that?  You  have  means 
— tell  me  how  much  you  want  and  for  what  purpose." 

He  laid  his  hand  on  the  iron  safe  which  stood  near  him. 

"No,  I  won't  have  that,"  I  answered  hastily.  "Let 
that  money  remain  for  future  days.  My  dear  grand- 
mother said  it  would  suffice  to  keep  away  want,  and  I  am 
not  in  want  yet — God  forbid!" 

;  He  let  his  hand  drop.  I  don't  know  why,  but  his 
peculiar  smile  made  me  fancy  he  had  also  heard  already 
of  Emma's  chattering.  This  made  me  feel  deeply  cast 
down,  but  at  the  same  time  strengthened  me  in  my  resolu- 
tion. 

"You  have  evidently  a  false  idea  of  the  work  you  want 
to  undertake,"  he  continued.  "I  know  that  in  five 
minutes  your  cheeks  would  flush,  and  the  thoughts  in  your 
head  and  your  feet  beneath  the  table  would  rebel  against 
the  detested  writing." 

"That  is  different  now,"  I  interposed  in  a  faint  voice 
and  feeling  dreadfully  ashamed.  He  was  quoting  my  own 
childish  words,  in  which  I  had  formerly  described  my 
horror  of  writing.  "I  have  found  it  difficult  enough, 
that  is  true,  I  don't  deny  it;  nevertheless  I  have  con- 
quered." 

"Keally?"  That  fatal  smile  again  trembled  on  his 
lips.  "Then  you  have  completely  thrown  aside  all  the 
haide  propensities?  You  have  forsworn  climbing  of  trees 
and  can  no  longer  understand  that  you  ever  took  pleasure 
in  wading  through  the  river?" 

"Oh,  no;  so  cultivated  as  that  I  certainly  am  not," 
broke  forth  from  me  against  my  will.  "And  indeed,  I 
cannot  think  the  time  will  ever  come  when  I  could  listen 
to  the  rustling  of  the  trees  and  the  murmur  of  the  waters 
without  a  yearning — but  I  shall  learn  to  govern  that  long- 
ing, as  I  did  to  form  these  characters,  with  clinched 
teeth" — I  pointed  to  the  paper — "also  against  my  inclina- 
tion." 

He  turned  away  and  looked  up  at  the  green  curtain  as 
though  he  were  counting  every  thread.  He  then  took  up 
a  little  paper  packet  and  held  it  toward  me.  In  graceful, 
powerful  characters  was  written  there :  "Rosa  Damascena. " 

"Reflect  now.  You  would  have  to  write  that  four 
hundred  times,  over  and  over  again,"  he  impressively  said. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  245 

"Good—  yon  shall  see  I  can  do  it!  It  is  the  name  of  a 
flower,  and  if  I  must  write  the  word  'Rose'  a  thousand 
times,  I  shall  always  think  at  the  same  time  of  its  delicious 
perfume.  A  rose's  calyx  has  always  been  a  marvel  to  me. 
I  have  always  looked  upon  it  as  the  palace  of  beetles—  that 
is  one  of  my  'haide  propensities'  too.  Will  you  trust  me 
with  the  work  now?" 

He  remained  silent,  and  now  I  began  to  fear  that  he  had 
raised  all  these  difficulties  because  he  did  not  wish  to  say 
directly  that  my  mode  of  writing  would  not  answer. 
Deeply  humiliated,  I  thought  of  Louisa,  the  teacher's 
orphan.  She  was  still  in  the  house,  and  her  clever,  active 
hands  were  become  quite  remarkable.  She  no  doubt  did 
the  thing  far  better  than  I  could,  and  it  was  very  daring 
of  me  to  compare  myself  with  her.  Oh,  how  bitterly  I 
repented  having  gone  into  the  office!  Not  without  a 
strong  ebullition  of  the  old  refractoriness  did  I  seize  upon 
my  sample  of  writing  and  put  it  in  my  pocket. 

"I  feel  that  I  have  been  acting  too  forwardly  and  formed 
a  much  too  exalted  idea  of  my  accomplishments,"  I  said, 
breathing  hard.  "Now  that  I  see  that  beautiful,  graceful 
handwriting"  —  and  I  pointed  to  the  paper  packet  —  "I  feel 
ashamed." 

I  walked  rapidly  toward  the  door,  but  he  had  reached  it 
before  me. 

"Do  not  leave  me  thus,"  he  said  in  his  gentlest  tones. 
"I  am  acting  foolishly.  You  are  beginning  to  give  me  a 
proof  of  the  faintest  possible  dawn  of  confidence,  and  I 
gainsay  yon.  But  I  cannot  consent  to  your  undergoing  a 
martyrdom  which  your  whole  nature  rebels  against.  You 
told  me  yourself  that  you  accomplished  that  mechanically 
with  clinched  teeth.  I  do  not  wish,  either,  that  your 


{hand,  which  has  hitherto  been  unsullied  by  the  touch  of 
money  and  its  accompanying  curse,  should  be  wearied  for 
the  sake  of  a  few  pence  —  the  seventeen-year-old  human 
marvel  that  had  never  seen  money!  Did  you  think  it 
passed  by  me,  then,  like  a  new  scene,  or  a  strange  national 
costume,  or  anything  of  that  kind?  I  explained  to  you 
at  the  beginning  that  the  overgrown  rebellious  element  in 
your  nature  must  be  curbed  —  unruliness  disfigures  a 
woman  in  my  eyes,  though  thousands  may  regard  it  as  a 
kind  of  wild  grace  —  but  your  individuality  must  not  be 
injured  in  the  process." 


246  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Well,  I  am  undertaking  the  curbing  of  it  in  proposing 
to  work  hard  and  unweariedly,"  I  replied  obstinately. 
"I  know  that  others  seek  healing  in  labor.  You  yourself 
are  busy  from  morning  till  night  and  exact  the  same  from 
those  around  you." 

He  smiled. 

"I  exact  from  each — and  rightly  so — the  strictest  dili- 
gence in  his  vocation ;  but  do  you  imagine  I  am  such  an 
ingrained  lover  of  work  that  I  would  knead  everybody  and 
everything  into  one  and  the  same  mold?  One  who  lops 
the  superfluous  branches  of  the  trees  off  I  allow  to  do  as 
he  wills;  but  I  can  scold  him  severely  if  he  dare  to  touch 
with  his  rude  finger  one  of  the  tender  blossoms  or  rub 
the  bloom  from  off  the  velvety  leaves.  I  should  dearly 
like  to  see  the  willful  shake  of  that  curly  head  somewhat 
gentler;  but  only  by  means  of  attaining  mental  superiority, 
never  under  the  palsying  yoke  of  mechanical  labor." 

I  saw  now  that  I  was  on  the  point  of  losing  my  only 
prospect  of  earning  anything,  because,  do  what  I  would, 
I  could  not  resume  the  business  tone  which  he  himself  had 
entirely  laid  aside.  Every  word  he  uttered  sounded  as 
repressed  and  hushed  as  though  he  feared  any  raising  of 
his  voice  might  light  a  flame  within  which  would  lead  on 
to  passion.  Could  some  word  have  escaped  which  recalled 
to  his  memory  the  faithless  lady?  Moved  by  an  inexpli- 
cable sense  of  passionate  pain  and  sympathy  for  one  who 
had  once  suffered  so  much,  I  seized  the  only  remaining 
way — entreaty.  I  begged  and  implored  in  such  ardent 
tones  that  I  was  myself  surprised. 

A  flash  of  light,  like  sunshine,  spread  over  his  face. 

"Well,  then,  you  shall  have  what  you  wish,"  he  said  in 
a  thrilling  voice  after  a  moment's  reflection.  "Now  I 
understand  how  it  was  that  even  the  rough,  stern  Frau 
Use  could  do  so  little  with  the  'haide  princess!'  No,  no, 
we  have  not  done  quite  so  quickly  yet,"  he  exclaimed  as, 
after  a  few  words  of  thanks,  I  was  about  to  leave  the  room. 
"It  is  only  just  now  that  I  should  make  a  request,  is  it 
not?  Don't  be  frightened.  I  will  not  ask  you  to  shake 
hands" — how  bitter  and  humiliating  that  assurance 
sounded  to  me — "I  will  only  ask  you  to  answer  me  one 
question  truly." 

I  turned  back  and  looked  up  at  him. 

"Wos 1  mistaken  or  wa§  it  really  your  voice  which  called 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  247 

me  the  night  I  returned  after  the  accident  at  Dorotheen- 
thal?" 

I  felt  the  burning  color  spread  over  my  face,  but  replied 
without  hesitation: 

"Yes,  it  was  I.     I  was  afraid " 

I  stopped,  for  the  door  opened  and  Erdmann  entered. 
With  an  expression  of  the  most  profound  annoyance  Herr 
Claudius  pointed  to  a  packet  of  letters  to  be  taken  to  the 
post.  The  old  man  had  a  letter  in  his  hand,  which  he 
laid  upon  the  table  and  then  proceeded  to  fill  a  bag  slung 
around  him  with  the  others. 

"From  Friiulein  Charlotte,"  he  said  as  he  noticed  the 
evident  surprise  with  which  his  master  looked  at  the  seal 
of  the  letter  he  had  brought  with  him. 

"That  letter  will  not  go  till  early  to-morrow  morning, 
Erdmann, "  said  Herr  Claudius  curtly,  taking  it  to  him- 
self. 

During  this  conversation  I  had  reached  the  door,  and 
before  he  could  call  me  back  again  I  was  standing  in  the 
hall  with  a  beating  heart.  I  breathed  once  more — the 
bear  of  an  old  man  had  come  just  at  the  right  moment. 
In  an  instant  more  I  should  have  allowed  Herr  Claudius 
to  induce  me  to  confess  all  I  had  suffered  that  evening 
about  him.  What  did  it  mean?  The  ground  gave  way 
beneath  my  feet;  the  old  gentleman  in  the  blue  spectacles! 
All  at  once  this  phantom  of  the  past  had  disappeared,  and 
all  that  had  made  such  a  deep  impression  on  me  in  the 
new  world  seemed  as  nothing  when  compared  with  the 
striking  appearance  of  the  "Kramer." 


XXVII. 

upstairs  to  the  sitting-rooms.  Three,  communi- 
cating with  one  another  and  surrounding  Charlotte's, 
were  always  comfortably  warmed  and  lighted.  The  doors 
all  stood  wide  open,  and  Herr  Claudius  liked  when  con- 
versing to  be  able  now  and  then  to  pace  their  entire  length. 
The  circle  that  assembled  round  the  tea-table  was  a  very 
small  one.  A  few  old  gentlemen,  so-called  respectable 
people,  and  a  few  friends  of  old  times  came  now  and  then; 
but  my  father  — and  as  a  matter  of  course  his  "daisy" 


248  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

too — with  young  Helldorf  were  regular  guests.  Louisa, 
too,  the  young  orphan  and  silent  needlewoman,  was  also 
present.  On  the  other  hand,  the  old  bookkeeper  had 
excused  himself  once  for  all  by  saying  he  was  growing  old 
and  wished  to  avoid  passing  through  the  garden  on  cold 
and  foggy  evenings.  In  reality,  however,  he  had  openly 
declared  that  the  house  of  Claudius  had  assumed  such  a 
doubtful  aspect  that  he  at  all  events  had  determined  to 
wash  his  hands  of  it,  and  take  no  part  in  that  for  which 
the  present  owner  would  one  day  have  to  answer  to  his 
predecessors. 

On  this  occasion  the  rooms  were  still  empty.  It  was  a 
cold  November  evening.  The  first  light  flakes  of  snow 
were  mingling  with  a  close,  fine  rain,  which  hung  over  the 
earth  like  a  heavy  cloud,  and  gusts  of  wind  moaned 
through  the  streets. 

I  found  Fraulein  Fliedner  handling  the  clattering  cups 
and  saucers  as  I  entered  the  parlor.  The  old  lady  was 
somewhat  excited,  for  the  china  was  slipping  through  her 
fingers  in  quite  a  confused  manner.  Charlotte  was  watch- 
ing her  with  a  malicious  smile.  She  had  thrown  herself 
into  a  corner  of  the  sofa  and  was  half-smothered  in  the 
glittering  folds  of  a  green  silk  dress  which  was  overloaded 
with  flounces  and  puffings.  The  striking  style  of  her 
beauty  fascinated  me  afresh ;  her  splendid  figure  showed 
off  to  such  advantage  in  the  warm,  soft  cushions;  at  the 
same  time  the  contrast  between  her  bare  neck  and  arms 
and  the  chilly  November  wind  outside  made  me  shiver  a 
little.  The  voluptuous  beauty  was  covered  only  with  a 
mass  of  very  transparent  lace. 

''For  pity's  sake,  my  dear  Fliedner,  do  be  cautious," 
she  exclaimed,  with  an  affectation  of  nervousness,  but 
without  changing  her  comfortable,  careless  attitude  in  the 
slightest  degree.  "The  late  Frau  Claudius  would  turn  in 
her  grave  if  she  knew  how  you  are  using  all  her  porcelain 
mementos  of  christenings  and  family  reunions  and  I  know 
not  what  other  hallowing  recollections  which  may  hang 
round  them.  The  matter  is  not  worth  speaking  of. 
What  are  you  thus  annoyed  about?  Can  I  help  this 
Louisa  being  odious  to  me?  And  is  it  my  fault  that  this 
weeping-willow  face  always  looks  as  if  she  was  asking  for- 
giveness from  God  and  man  that  she  is  in  existence?  The 
girl  is  instinctively  conscious  of  what  I  say  out  uuaf- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOH.  249 

fectedly— she  doesn't  suit  in  the  parlor  with  her  school- 
mistress manners.  This  is  a  piece  of  uncle's  humanity, 
which  he  carries  top  far  in  thus  bringing  her  into  a  posi- 
tion for  which  she  is  wholly  unsuited.  Dear  me,  I  am  no 
savage  either,  but  there  is  a  propriety!  Good-evening, 
princess." 

She  held  out  her  hand  and  drew  me  down  on  the  sofa 
beside  her. 

"Sit  quiet  there  now,  child,  and  don't  be  gliding  per- 
petually about  the  room  like  a  will-o'-the-wisp,"  said  she 
imperiously.  "Otherwise  uncle  will  be  giving  me  a  neigh- 
bor who  provokes  me  with  her  eternal  muslin  stitching  and 
coarse  steel  thimble." 

"One  of  these  intolerable  evils  you  can  easily  remedy," 
said  Fraulein  Fliedner  very  quietly.  "Give  Louisa  one  of 
your  silver  thimbles — you  never  use  them." 

"Very  seldom,  at  all  events,"  laughed  Charlotte,  hold- 
ing up  her  long  white  fingers.  "I  know  why,  too.  Do 
yon  see  these  nails,  my  best  of  Flioduers?  They  are  not 
very  small,  but  rosy  and  blamelessly  elegant — on  each  of 
them  stands  the  patent  of  nobility.  Don't  you  think  so?" 

She  drew  up  her  upper  lip  in  a  peculiar  manner  and, 
laughing  impertinently,  showed  the  whole  row  of  her  fine 
white  teeth. 

"No,  most  decidedly  I  do  not  think  so,"  replied  Frau- 
lein Fliedner  excitedly,  the  flush  of  anger  rising  to  her 
cheek.  "Nature  gives  no  such  patent  in  opposition  to 
labor,  nor  does  a  few  words  written  by  a  prince,  the  result 
of  which,  according  to  some  foolish  people,  is  all  at  once 
to  turn  honest  red  into  bad  blue  blood.  Such  princely 
.'  words  even  have  not  the  power  to  release  any  individual 
from  the  work  to  which  mankind  is  properly  called.  It 
would  be  wrong  and  a  contradiction  in  the  Almighty's 
mode  of  acting  if  rulers  were  really  given  the  power  to 
sanction  laziness.  I  must,  however,  on  this  occasion  re- 
mind you  of  one  thing.  Up  to  this  moment  it  has  never 
crossed  my  lips,  but  your  arrogance  no  longer  knows  any 
bounds ;  it  becomes  every  hour  more  and  more  intolerable, 
and  therefore  I  must  say  to  yon :  Don't  forget  that  you 
are  an  adopted  child." 

"Oh,  yes,  just  such  a  poor  creature,  eating  the  bread  of 
kindness".  Isn't  that  it,  my  good  Fliedner?"  exclaimed 
Charlotte,  fixing  her  sparkling  eyes  on  the  old  lady's  face 


JJ50  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

scornfully.  "And  just  think,  that  doesn't  cause  me  much 
pain,  not  so  much  as  that,"  and  she  filliped  her  fingers 
together.  "It  tastes  most  excellent  because  I  cannot  rid 
myself  of  the  belief  that  it  belongs  to  me  by  the  rights  of 
God  and  man.  Besides,  what  I  wrote  to  Dagobert  to-day 
is  perfectly  true,  that  since  Eckhof  fell  out  of  favor  you 
play  the  first  fiddle  at  the  tea-table.  You  are  growing 
impertinent,  my  good  Fliedner." 

She  stopped  all  at  once  and  looked  over  the  old  lady's 
head  at  the  door,  where  Herr  Claudius  had  made  his 
appearance  noiselessly.  Not  in  the  least  put  out,  she  rose 
and  greeted  him.  Curtly  returning  her  salutation,  he 
walked  at  once  over  to  the  table,  holding  the  seal  of  the 
letter  which  he  had  intercepted  in  the  office  up  to  the 
lamp. 

"How  do  you  come  by  these  arms,  Charlotte?"  he  said 
quietly,  but  with  perceptible  sharpness  in  his  tone. 

She  was  frightened.  I  saw  it  in  the  slight  twitch  of  her 
half -closed  eyelids,  from  which  she  had  previously  affected 
to  inspect  the  arms  with  indifference.  "How  come  I  by 
them,  uncle?"  she  repeated,  shrugging  her  shoulders 
almost  playfully.  "I  am  very  sorry,  but  I  can  give  you 
no  explanation  about  that." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?" 

"Did  I  not  speak  distinctly  enough,  Uncle  Eric?  Well, 
then,  at  this  moment  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  tell  you 
how  I  came  by  this  pretty  little  seal.  I  too  have  my 
little  secrets,  of  which  not  a  few  are  to  be  found  in  the 
old  Claudius  house.  I  have  not  stolen  it;  neither  have  I 
bought  it;  nor  has  it  been  made  a  present  to  me,  either." 

So  far  did  she  venture  to  play  ball  with  this  fatal  riddle 
in  the  very  face  of  that  extreme  gravity. 

"The  intellectual  solution  is  that  you  have  found  it, 
although  I  cannot  think  where,"  he  said,  evidently  dis- 
gusted with  her  pert  way  and  manner  of  jesting  with  him. 
"I  have  not  the  least  intention  of  inquiring  further — 
keep  your  secret.  I  ask  you  therefore  instead:  How  do 
you  come  to  use  these  arms?" 

"Because — well,  because  I  like  it." 

"Ah,  so — that  is  an  amazing  view  of  meum  and  tuum  ! 
These  arms  are  indeed  extinct,  and  personally  I  am  wholly 
wanting  in  respect  for  the  fictitious  halo  which  surrounds 
such  a  tiny  shield.  I  might  no  doubt  allow  you  the  child- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOH.  251 

ish  pleasure  of  continuing  to  seal  your  letters  with  this 
little  crowned  eagle  if  you  were  not  Charlotte,  but  one 
never  puts  cards  in  the  hands  of  a  notorious  gambler 
whom  one  wishes  to  cure,  and  I  here  forbid  you  once  for 
all  to  use  in  future  this  little  seal  which  you  have  found." 

"Uncle,  I  ask  you  in  return  if  you  really  have  the  right 
to  forbid  me?"  she  said  in  uncontrollable  passion.  I 
trembled  with  fear  and  excitement.  She  was  on  the  very 
point  of  disclosing  the  plot  at  one  blow. 

Herr  Claudius  stepped  back  and  measured  her  with  a 
haughty  look  of  astonishment. 

"You  dare  to  doubt  it?"  He  was  angry,  but  retained 
outwardly  perfect  self-control.  "On  the  day  when  you 
— you  and  your  brother — left  Madam  Godin's  house  with 
me  this  right  became  mine.  I  gave  you  the  name  of 
Claudius,  and  no  law  in  the  world  can  gainsay  me  if  I 
insist  that  you  shall  bear  it  without 'any  modification. 
Has  the  moment  really  come  when  I  shall  be  forced  to 
rue  having  spread  this  valued  jewel  of  my  fathers  as  a 
shield  over  your  and  Dagobert's  head?  My  brother  injured 
it  in  having  united  this  folly" — he  pointed  to  the  ring — 
"with  it;  with  my  consent  it  shall  never  be  revived!" 

A  mocking    smile    crossed   Charlotte's  features;    he 
observed  it  and  knit  his  brows. 

"A  childishly  weak  and  diseased  mind  in  such  a  power- 
ful form,"  he  said,  running  his  eye  over  the  young  girl's 
imposing  form.  "You  complain  and  grumble  at  the 
arrogance  of  the  nobility,  and  yet  help  to  strengthen  it 
like  thousands  of  similar  foolish  creatures  by  the  eagerness 
you  show  to  belong  to  their  circle,  by  servile  submission 
where  you  are  only  endured.  I  am  not  one  of  those 
fanatical  opponents  of  the  nobility  who  long  to  tear  them 
from  their  pedestal.  Let  them  stay  there.  But  I  will  also 
maintain  my  position.  The  significance  of  their  place  in 
the  world  is,  besides,  quite  different.  If  I  do  not  make 
myself  its  slave  I  am  not  one.  Its  imaginary  strength 
only  takes  root  in  your  weakness:  where  there  is  no  adora- 
tion there  will  be  no  idols." 

Charlotte  threw  herself  once  more  into  the  sofa  corner. 
It  evidently  cost  her  a  tremendous  effort  to  curb  her 
tongue. 

"But  how  can  I  help  my  nature?"  she  exclaimed,  not 
without  scorn.  "Be  it  even  so — I  cannot  help  it.  I  be- 


252  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

long  to  those 'foolish  creatures. '  Why  should  I  deny  it? 
If  this  charming  little  crowned  eagle  really  belonged  to 
my  own  family  name  I  should  be  proud  of  it — proud 
beyond  measure!" 

"Well,  it  is  ordained  that  trees  shall  not  grow  so  high 
as  heaven.  Woe  to  them  who  should  be  obliged  to  live 
with  you  did  this  fancied  superiority  of  birth  really  be- 
long to  you.  Happily,  neither  your  own  name  nor  that 
of  your  adoption  justifies " 

"My  own  name?    What  is  that  like,  Uncle  Eric?" 

She  raised  herself  involuntarily  and  fixed  her  glowing 
eyes  steadfastly  and  piercingly  upon  his  face. 

"Have  you  really  forgotten  it — it  which  sounds  a  thou- 
sand times  sweeter  in  your  ears  than  the  coarse  German, 
worthless  name  of  Claudius?  It  is  Mericourt." 

It  was  evident  that  he  uttered  the  name  with  an  effort. 

Charlotte  sank  back  again  in  the  pillows  and  pressed 
her  handkerchief  to  her  lips. 

"Is  tea  ready,  my  dear  Fliedner?"  said  Herr  Claudius, 
turning  to  the  old  lady,  who,  like  myself,  had  sat  listening 
breathlessly  to  the  dangerous  conversation.  While  he 
drew  a  chair  for  himself  to  the  table,  she  poured  out  the 
tea  rapidly.  Her  delicate  little  hands  were  somewhat 
unsteady  as  she  handed  him  the  cup  and  with  a  look  of 
anxiety  shyly  scanned  his  clouded  brow.  And  this  old 
lady  was  his  partner  in  guilt;  this  gentle,  lovable,  kind 
old  lady  the  sharer  of  a  perpetual  dark  iniquity — never! 
Herr  Claudius  had  once  more  involved  the  strange  cir- 
cumstances in  the  deepest  mystery  by  his  last  firm  and 
decided  answer.  I  believed  him.  Charlotte  thought 
otherwise.  I  read  in  her  face  that  her  conviction  was 
immovable.  She  sat  like  a  princess  beside  me  and  allowed 
Fraulein  Fliedner  to  tend  her,  and  the  mocking  smile 
which  still  lingered  on  her  lips  was  at  the  name  of  Meri- 
court. What  a  contradiction  was  this  haughty  soul  itself! 
Once  upon  a  time,  in  the  supposition  that  her  name  was 
the  French  one,  she  had  rejected  with  scorn  the  idea  that 
the  plebeian  blood  of  the  Claudiuses  ran  in  her  veins;  and 
now  she  threw  it  away  like  a  cast-off  dress  at  the  discovery 
that  she  really  was  a  Claudius,  the  veritable  niece  of  the 
despised  "Kramer."  Ah,  I,  the  harmless  child  of  the 
haide,  was  utterly  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  a  few  magic 
words  from  a  prince,  a  few  scratches  of  his  pen,  sufficed 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  $53 

to  cleave  the  old  stock  of  the  mercantile  house  to  its  very 
root  and  turn  the  severed  branch  into  such  new  nobility 
as  to  be  unrecognizable!  Just  then  Louisa  came  in,  and 
after  her  Helldorf.  I  drew  a  long  breath,  as  though  a 
fresh  and  reviving  element  had  come  in.  These  two  had 
not  the  faintest  suspicion  on  what  a  volcano  the  peaceful- 
looking  tea-table  stood,  but  they  recklessly  broke  up  the 
deep  silence  which  had  prevailed  ever  since  Herr  Claudius 
had  spoken  last.  I  always  felt,  too,  in  Helldorf  s  vicinity 
a  sense  of  protection,  a  home-like,  familiar  tie.  Had  I 
not  gradually  become  the  petted,  cherished  child  of  his 
brother's  house? 

He  gave  me  a  white  paper  with  a  meaning  smile  and 
careful  fingers.  I  knew  what  it  contained — a  just-opening 
tea-rose  which  Frau  Helldorf  had  long  been  nursing  for 
me  and  which  she  had  told  me  that  morning  I  should  re- 
ceive at  the  tea-table  if  in  the  course  of  the  day  the  bud 
should  open.  I  uttered  a  cry  of  delight  as  I  opened  the 
paper.  Thick,  white,  and  toward  the  center  a  pale  yellow, 
the  heavily  perfumed  blossom  swayed  upon  its  stem. 

"Oh,  pray  take  a  little  care  of  my  dress,  Louisa;  you 
are  tearing  off  the  flounces!"  exclaimed  Charlotte,  at  that 
moment  angrily  drawing  the  rustling  folds  of  her  dress 
toward  her.  She  was  very  angry,  but  I  could  not  believe 
it  was  on  account  of  her  dress;  a  tear  in  her  richest  dress 
was  always  a  matter  of  great  indifference  to  her.  I  had 
often  seen  her  increase  with  her  own  hands  the  three- 
cornered  tear  a  thorn-bnsh  had  made  in  a  beautiful  lace 
handkerchief  because  it  looked  so  ridiculous,  and  she  had 
pulled  Fraulein  Fliedner's  Pinscher  by  the  ears  because 
he  had  torn  the  trimming  of  a  new  dress  with  such  charm- 
ing mischief. 

Louisa  drew  back  frightened,  looked  up  with  terrified 
eyes,  and  stammered  forth  an  apology.  Although  the 
expected  injury  did  not  appear,  one  could  not  fail  to 
observe  the  terror  with  which  the  imperious  young  lady 
inspired  the  depressed,  timid  young  creature.  It  was  a 
painful  scene  and  would  certainly  have  ended  unpleasantly 
for  Charlotte  had  not  Fraulein  Flieduer  come  to  the 
rescue. 

Giving  one  rapid  glance  at  Herr  Claudius'  ominously 
knitted  brow,  she  seized  the  rose  and  fastened  it  in  my 
hair. 


254  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"You  look  splendid,  my  little  brunette,"  she  said,  pat- 
ting me  on  the  cheek  kindly. 

Charlotte  buried  herself  more  deeply  than  ever  in  her 
corner;  her  long  lashes  lay  upon  her  burning  cheek  as 
though  she  slept ;  she  did  not  vouchsafe  a  single  glance  to 
the  adornment  of  my  hair. 

In  spite  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  some  more 
guests  dropped  in.  An  animated  discussion  then  arose, 
and  Charlotte  roused  herself  from  her  apparent  apathy. 
The  temptation  to  show  off  her  brilliant  conversational 
powers  was  one  she  could  not  resist.  Her  genius  seemed 
to  sparkle  with  unwonted  brilliancy  on  that  occasion ;  I 
had  never  before  seen  her  so  animated.  Her  mocking 
laughter  often  mingled  unpleasantly  in  it,  indeed,  and 
the  wanton  air  with  which  she  threw  her  voluptuous  form 
about,  the  unreserved  play  of  her  round  white  shoulders, 
the  looseness  of  her  robe,  which  disclosed  somewhat  too 
fully  for  maiden  modesty  the  splendid  female  bust — all 
seemed  as  though  every  fiber  were  alive  with  electricity, 
as  if  it  were  fire,  not  blood,  which  flowed  through  her 
veins. 

With  a  mingled  feeling  of  horror  and  admiration 
my  gaze  seemed  riveted  on  her,  when  all  at  once  a  hand 
passed  over  my  eyes,  as  though  to  forbid  the  sight.  It 
was  Herr  Claudius,  who  sat  next  me.  Immediately  after 
he  asked  Helldorf  to  sing.  His  unmistakable  object  in 
asking  the  young  man  to  sing,  that  of  shutting  up  the 
witty  red  lips  yonder  even  for  a  few  moments,  did  not 
succeed.  Charlotte  continued  speaking,  though  perhaps 
in  a  lower  tone,  just  as  though  she  had  no  idea  that 
Schubert's  "Wanderer"  was  being  sung  over  at  the  piano 
with  touching  power. 

"If  you  do  not  care  for  music  yourself,  Charlotte,  at 
least  do  not  spoil  the  enjoyment  of  others,"  said  Herr 
Claudius  authoritatively  as  he  signed  with  his  hand  that 
silence  must  be  observed. 

She  shrank  back  and  ceased  talking.  She  leaned  her 
head  back  on  one  of  the  sofa  cushions  with  an  air  of  proud 
indifference,  and  began  playing  with  one  of  the  long, 
thick  curls  which  hung  down  on  her  neck.  She  never 
once  looked  up  as  the  young  man  returned  into  the  room 
and  received  the  lively  thanks  of  everybody  present.  - 

One  of  the  gentlemen,  however,  begged  her  to  sing  a 
duet  with  Helldorf. 


TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  255 

"No,  not  to-day.  I  am  not  inclined  for  it,"  she  said  in 
a  careless  tone  without  changing  her  position,  without 
even  looking  up. 

I  saw  Helldorf's  handsome  face  grow  pale  to  his  very 
lips.  I  felt  so  deeply  grieved  for  him.  I  could  not  en- 
dure that  a  member  of  the  family  I  had  become  so  tenderly 
attached  to  should  be  offended.  I  rose  courageously. 

"I  will  sing  the  duet  with  you,  if  you  like,"  I  said  to 
him,  and  my  voice  quivered,  for  it  seemed  to  me  as  though 
I  were  doing  something  amazing,  something  perfectly 
superhuman. 

And  he  knew  that — he  knew  my  timidity  before 
strangers.  With  a  rapid  motion  he  raised  my  hand  to  his 
lips  and  led  me  to  the  piano. 

I  don't  think  I  ever  sang  in  all  my  life  so  well  or  with 
so  much  expression  as  on  that  evening.  A  powerful,  if 
incomprehensible,  excitement  enabled  me  to  overcome  the 
nervousness  which  obscured  the  first  few  notes.  One  by 
one  every  one  present  had  stolen  noiselessly  up  to  us,  and 
at  the  close  we  were  overwhelmed  with  applause.  I  was 
more  especially  called  a  lark,  a  flute,  and  I  know  not  what 
all,  by  the  old  gentlemen. 

Then  came  Charlotte  too.  She  rushed  up  to  me  and 
put  her  arm  round  my  waist.  I  was  frightened  at  her. 
She  bent  low  enough  over  me  to  hide  the  sparkling  tears 
which  stood  in  her  eyes;  but  they  were  tears  of  anger, 
which  with  tightly  compressed  lips  and  heaving  bosom 
she  was  endeavoring  with  all  her  might  to  suppress.  Had 
I  but  known  then  in  the  very  faintest  manner  the  nature 
of  the  passion  which  so  fearfully  excited  her,  how  easily 
could  I  have  calmed  her,  how  willingly  would  I  have  done 
so!  As  it  was,  however,  an  inexpressible  sense  of  anxiety 
oppressed  me  and  I  made  an  effort  to  escape  from  her 
clasp. 

"Now  just  look  at  the  haide  lark!"  she  laughed  aloud. 
"With  one  single  grasp  you  could  crush  the  little  song- 
stress"— she  tightened  her  arm  round  me  so  that  I  gasped 
for  breath — "and  she  quavers  till  the  walls  tremble." 

Before  I  was  aware  of  it  she  had  drawn  me  away  into  a 
more  secluded  part  of  the  room,  to  all  appearance  coaxing 
and  caressing  me.  Suddenly  she  brushed  her  hand  vio- 
lently over  my  head  and  the  rose  flew  into  the  center  of 
the  next  room. 


256  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Charming  little  coquette,  you  have  played  your  part 
to  perfection!  Who  could  have  believed  that  such  a 
dfhigerous  element  lay  hidden  in  the  barefooted  maiden?" 
she  whispered  with  carefully  suppressed  voice  in  my  ear. 
"And  do  you  know  what  is  done  with  those  who  are  thus 
celebrated?"  she  exclaimed  louder.  "People  raise  them 
high  above  the  common  herd — thus,  thus — you  feather, 
you  charming  nothing!" 

Suddenly  I  felt  myself  raised  from  the  ground  so  high 
that  I  could  have  touched  the  ceiling,  which  in  the  upper 
story  at  the  front  house  was  not  very  lofty.  In  the  power- 
ful arms  of  this  young  girl  I  was,  indeed,  but  as  a  morsel 
of  down  floating  about — a  powerless  being  with  helpless 
infant  hands,  a  veritable  nothing!  Even  over  my  voice  I 
had  lost  all  power;  shame  and  terror  had  choked  me.  I 
felt  as  if  I  were  in  a  mad  woman's  power. 

Laughing,  she  flew  through  the  room  with  me,  while 
I  involuntarily  closed  my  eyes.  A  sudden  blow  on  my 
head  aroused  me — we  had  run  against  the  heavy  bronze 
luster,  which  hung  very  low  in  the  furthest-off  room.  I 
uttered  a  trembling  cry  and  the  company  came  running 
in,  while  my  "bearer"  let  me  down,  considerably  alarmed. 
I  just  saw  as  through  a  mist  that  Herr  Claudius  took  me 
in  his  arms,  and  then  darkness  fell  upon  me. 

How  long  this  insensibility  lasted  I  know  not,  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  gradually  awoke  much  in  the  same  way 
that  I  had  done  so  often  on  Use's  lap  when  I  was  a  child. 
I  felt  myself  gently  supported,  and  now  and  then  a  whis- 
pered breath  which  I  knew  not,  and  which  yet  sounded 
so  exactly  like  Use's  pet  names  for  me  which,  properly 
speaking,  I  was  never  intended  to  hear.  But  the  heart 
against  which  I  leaned  was  beating  violently — that  was 
quite  a  different  one  to  Use's.  Startled,  I  opened  my  eyes 
and  gazed  into  a  face  flushed  with  a  passionate  anxiety 
such  as  I  can  never  forget. 

Suddenly  I  understood  the  position  I  was  in  and  turned 
away  my  face,  coloring,  but  at  the  motion  my  head  began 
to  pain  me.  The  arm  which  had  been  supporting  me  was 
immediately  withdrawn,  and  Herr  Claudius,  who  had  been 
sitting  on  the  sofa  by  me,  sprang  up. 

"Oh,  my  dear,  sweet  child — God  be  praised,  there  are 
your  large  eyes  once  more!"  exclaimed  Fraulein  Fleidner 
in  a  trembling  voice.  She  was  just  in  the  act  of  wringing 
out  a  linen  cloth  in  a  china  plate. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  put  up  my  hand  to  feel  my  head.  It  was  bound  up 
and  the  cold  water  was  trickling  down  on  my  left  temple 
from  the  bandage.  Quicker  than  I  could  have  imagined 
did  I  once  more  gain  the  mastery  over  my  nerves  and  that 
strange,  unknown  feeling  which  for  one  short  moment 
had  thrilled  my  soul  with  such  indescribable  sweetness  and 
joy.  I  thought  of  Charlotte  and  the  severe  rebuke  she 
was  sure  to  receive  with  deep  anxiety.  As  soon  as  possible 
I  must  be  upon  my  feet  again,  well  and  whole. 

"What  have  I  been  doing?"  I  inquired,  raising  myself 
energetically. 

"You  have  been  in  a  slight  faint,  darling,"  said  Friiu- 
lein  Flieduer,  evidently  delighted  at  my  cheerfulness. 

"What!  have  I  been  such  a  weak  creature?  Oh,  if  Use 
only  knew  that!  She  can't  endure  ladies  with  weak 
nerves.  But  we  will  take  off  this  cloth,  Fraulein  Flieduer. 
It  really  is  not  necessary,"  I  said,  putting  up  my  hand. 
"Oh,  my  rose!"  I  exclaimed  involuntarily. 

"You  shall  have  it  again,"  said  Herr  Claudius,  looking 
cast  down.  I  saw  his  bosom  heave  as  with  a  sigh.  He 
went  into  the  adjoining  room  and  took  up  the  rose,  which 
still  lay  there  on  the  floor. 

"I  must  doit  honor;  Frau  Helldorf  has  been  nursing 
it  so  long  for  me.  We  have  watched  every  leaf  as  it 
grew,"  I  said,  looking  up  at  him  as  he  gave  it  into  my 
hand. 

These  few  words  produced  a  strange  effect.  The 
melancholy  which  had  hung  on  Herr  Claudius'  brow  dis- 
appeared entirely  at  them,  the  curtains  yonder  rustled, 
and  Charlotte,  who  up  to  that  moment  had  sought  the 
shade  of  the  window  niche,  now  came  forward.  She 
advanced  toward  me  and  threw  herself  on  her  knees. 

"Princess,"  she  said  in  soft  beseeching  tones,  stretching 
out  her  hands  to  me,  begging  forgiveness. 

Herr    Claudius    stepped     between    us.     I     trembled 
Never  yet  had  I  seen  those  great  blue  eyes  light  up  with 
such  ungovernable  fury. 

"You  shall  not  touch  her  with  the  tip  of  your  finger — 
never  again.  I  shall  know  how  to  guard  her  in  future 
from  you,"  he  said,  pushing  away  her  hand.  How  re- 
morselessly severe  and  stern  that  quiet,  composed  voice 
could  sound. 

Fraulein  Fliedner  moved  forward  in  alarm  and  looked 


258  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

anxiously  into  his  face.  For  the  first  time  for  years  past 
passion  again  broke  forth,  the  barriers  of  a  sternly  exer- 
cised and  unexampled  self-control  broke  down.  The  old 
lady  closed  the  room  door  noiselessly;  the  gentlemen  were 
still  in  Charlotte's  room. 

"I  repent — bitterly  repent  the  moment  in  which  I 
sought  to  lead  you  by  my  guidance  into  a  purer  atmos- 
phere," he  continued  in  the  same  tone.  "I  have  drawn 
water  in  a  sieve.  Nature  won't  change,  .and  the  wild 
blood  in  your  veins " 

"Say  rather  'the  proud,'  uncle,"  she  said,  rising  from 
the  ground.  She  was  as  pale  as  death,  and  her  head  thrown 
back  on  her  shoulders  looked  statuesque  in  its  quiet  scorn. 

"Proud?"  he  repeated,  with  a  bitter  smile.  "Tell  me, 
how  are  you  wont  to  exhibit  this  beautiful  ornament  of 
woman,  and  why?  Perhaps  just  now,  when  devoid  of  all 
womanliness  or  dignity,  you  exhibited  yourself  in  the 
light  of  an  unbridled  bacchante." 

She  drew  back  as  if  he  had  struck  her  in  the  face. 

"And  what  else  do  you  call  proud?"  he  continued. 
"Your  unseemly  hankering  after  rank  and  position? 
Your  way  and  manner  of  acting  toward  people  who,  in 
your  opinion,  are  far  beneath  you?  With  that  same  heart- 
less manner  you  are  constantly  annoying  me  bitterly  and 
seriously  shaking  the  rotten  foundation  on  which  you 
stand.  Beware!" 

"Of  what,  Uncle  Eric?"  she  broke  in  coolly  and  with 
a  mocking  expression  on  her  lips.  "Have  not  my  brother 
and  I  already  experienced  every  form  of  oppression?  Is 
there  really  another  side  to  our  tolerably  high-tuned  souls 
which  you  have  not  already  sought  out  with  a  severe  hand 
and  pronounced  as  opposed  to  and  incapable  of  union 
with  what  I  may  call  practical  home-baked  life?  Do  you 
not  always  seek  to  stifle  our  ideal  wherever  you  can?" 

"Yes,  as  poisonous  stuff,  as  imaginary  dreams  which 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  morality  or  development  of 
th&  human  mind.  You,  ignoble  in  the  very  depths  of 
your  soul!  You  have  not  even  a  spark  of  gratitude!" 

"I  would  thank  you  for  the  bread  I  have  eaten  if  I  had 
not  more  to  demand  from  you,"  she  burst  out. 

"'For  pity's  sake,  be  silent,  Charlotte,"  said  Fritulein 
Fliedner,  seizing  her  arm.  She  shook  the  old  lady  oil 
angrily. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  259 

Herr  Claudius,  dumb  with  amazement,  measured  the 
young  girl's  haughtily  posed  figure  from  head  to  foot. 

"And  what  do  you  demand?"  he  then  asked  in  the 
same  tone  of  perfect  calm  as  of  old. 

"Light  upon  my  birth  before  everything." 

"You  wish  to  know  the  real  truth?" 

"Yes.  I  am  not  afraid  of  it,"  she  exclaimed,  with  a 
kind  of  triumph. 

He  turned  his  back  on  her  and  paced  the  room  a  few 
times.  The  silence  was  so  death-like  I  fancied  I  could 
hear  the  beating  of  the  excited  pulses. 

"No,  not  now — not  now,  when  you  have  just  offended 
and  annoyed  me  so  deeply.  It  would  be  an  ignoble 
revenge,"  ho  said  at  last,  pausing  opposite  to  her.  He 
raised  his  arm  and  pointed  toward  the  door.  "Go. 
Never  were  you  less  fitted  to  learn  the  truth  than  at  this 
moment." 

"I  knew  it,"  she  laughed  aloud,  and  rushed  out  into 
the  corridor. 

Fraulein  Fliedner  laid  a  fresh  bandage  round  my  head 
with  trembling  hands  and  then  went  across  to  see  after 
the  gentlamen  again. 

My  heart  beat.  I  was  alone  with  Herr  Claudius.  He 
sat  down  on  a  chair  beside  me. 

"That  was  a  stormy  scene,;  ill-suited  to  these  frightened 
eyes,  from  which  I  long  above  all  things  to  keep  all  evil 
impressions,"  he  said  in  an  unsteady  voice.  "You  have 
seen  me  give  way  to  violence.  How  sorry  I  am  for  that. 
The  little  confidence  you  showed  in  me  to-day  will  no 
doubt  be  all  gone  now.  I  can  imagine  that." 

I  shook  my  head. 

"No?"  he  asked,  and  his  clouded  brow  cleared  up.  "A 
flame  is  easily  kindled  in  my  brain.  I  know  it  and  have 
always  carefully  kept  it  down — only  to-day  when  I  heard 
your  cry  and  saw  the  blood  streaming  down  your  pale 
face." 

He  stood  up  and  paced  the  room,  as  though  the  very 
remembrance  of  it  was  too  much  for  him.  His  eyes 
scanned  the  ceiling  of  the  room  and  the  old-fashioned 
luster. 

"The  evil  old  house!"  he  said,  standing  still.  "An 
evil  spirit  hovers  over  these  old  walls  and  their  furniture. 
I  begin  to  understand  the  building  of  the  Carolinenlust — 


260  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

and  old  Eberhard  Claudius.  My  beautiful  grandmother 
drooped  like  a  flower  within  these  walls.  Those  ordinary, 
quiet-hearted  housekeepers  from  choice,  of  whom  enough 
have  borne  sway  here,  found  it  a  quiet,  peaceful  home, 
but  an  idolized,  beloved  woman  has  always  found  the 
house  dangerous." 

His  voice  thrilled  through  me.  No  doubt  he  had  spoken 
in  just  that  tone  to  the  faithless  one.  How  was  it  pos- 
sible that  she  had  notwithstanding  left  him? 

"Your  childish  instinct  taught  you  to  shrink  at  once 
from  the  cold,  dark  front  house,"  he  continued,  again 
seating  himself  near  me. 

"Yes,  that  was  at  first,"  I  interrupted  him  eagerly, 
"when  I  came  from  the  haide  and  every  wall  seemed  to 
me  a  cellar — that  was  very  childish.  It  is  not  light  in  the 
Dierkhof,  either.  There  are  old  dismal  panes  enough 
there,  through  which  the  sun  never  shines,  and  it  is  cold 
and  gloomy  in  the  barn,  no  matter  how  warm  the  sun  may 
shine  outside  in  the  haide.  No,  I  like  the  old  front  house 
now  and  look  at  it  with  quite  different  eyes,  and  ever  since 
I  have  read  about  Augsburg  and  the  Fuggers  I  always 
fancy  the  ladies  with  the  veiled  foreheads  will  come  down 
from  their  frames  and  meet  me  in  the  passages  or  on  the 
stairs." 

"Oh,  that  is  poetry  with  which  the  haide  princess  used 
to  invest  the  bleak,  barren  haide  too.  You  make  the  old 
mercantile  house  endurable  to  yourself  with  it  and  fly  to 
the  Carolinenlust  for  refuge." 

"No — it  is  still  dearer  and  more  home-like  here.  Was 
there,  then,  nobody  in  the  front  house  whom  your  beauti- 
ful great-grandmother  loved?" 

What  could  I  have  said  that  made  him  start  back  thus 
and  look  at  me  as  if  petrified? 

The  door  opened  and  Fraulein  Fliedner  entered  accom- 
panied by  the  doctor;  just  after,  my  father  arrived.  At 
first  he  was  very  anxious  about  my  accident,  but  the 
physician  declared  there  was  not  the  slightest  cause  for 
alarm.  One  of  my  curls  fell  under  the  scissors,  then  a 
fresh  bandage  was  applied,  and  I  was  forbidden  to  venture 
again  into  the  night  air.  I  slept  for  the  first  time,  watched 
by  Fraulein  Flieduer,  in  the  front  house,  and  through  my 
light  feverish  dreams  I  saw  one  small  form.  She  wore  the 
veil  belonging  to  the  females  of  the  old  Claudius  houso 


THEF11INCK8S  OF  THE  MOOR.  ^\ 

and  walked  about  the  passages  and  stairs,  but  her  feet 
never  touched  the  cold  stone;  it  was  all  strewn  with  the 
garden  blossoms,  and  the  little  being— I  felt  it  under  a 
strange  blissful  sensation — was  myself. 


XXVIII. 

THE  next  morning,  with  the  first  pale  ray  of  sunshine, 
fled  all  these  fond  delusions  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  felt 
ashamed  and  yet  could  scarce  tell  why.  Friiulein  Fliedner 
protested  energetically,  but  all  in  vain.  I  sprang  out  of 
bed,  dressed  myself  rapidly,  though  with  trembling  hands, 
and  ran  to  the  Carolinenlust.  I  flew  from  the  front  house, 
but  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  escape  the  quick  eye  be- 
fore which  I  had  once  so  trembled,  and,  strange  to  say, 
Herr  Claudius,  who  had  hitherto  opposed  a  grave  and 
quiet  front  to  my  repulsive  bearing  and  observed  a  highly 
reserved  demeanor,  did  not  retreat  one  hair's-breadth 
from  the  position  he  had  assumed  that  evening.  He  had 
once  taken  me  in  his  protecting  arms,  and  it  seemed  now 
as  though  that  were  to  endure  to  all  eternity.  My  shy 
flight  when  he  approached,  my  downcast  eyes  whenever 
he  spoke  to  me,  my  silence  when  in  his  presence — all  was 
of  no  avail.  He  continued  to  address  me  in  the  same 
tender  tones  he  had  once  begun,  and  his  beaming,  happy 
brow  showed  no  fear.  He  held  me  fast  without  touching 
me,  and  the  promise  he  had  made  of  protecting  me  was 
true  in  every  sense.  He  was  almost  more  in  the  observa- 
tory than  in  his  office.  There  were  no  more  tea  evenings 
in  the  front  house,  but  instead  Herr  Claudius  was  often 
present  at  our  little  tea-table  in  the  library,  and  while  the 
wintry  storrn  raged  without  round  the  corners  and  the 
green  curtains,  unfastened  from  their  loops,  blew  about  in 
the  room,  my  father  often  gave  one  of  his  celebrated 
lectures  in  presence  of  his  two  companions  at  the  tea-table. 
Herr  Claudius  always  listened  with  the  deepest  attention. 
Now  and  then  some  objection  would  fall  from  his  lips  and 
the  speaker  draw  back  in  amazement,  for  it  was  new  and 
original  and  supported  by  an  amount  of  knowledge  which 
in  the  "Kramer"  he  would  least  of  all  have  expected  to 
meet  with. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOtt. 

Our  agreement  relative  to  my  performances  in  the  writ- 
ing line  had  also  been  put  in  practice.  I  received  my 
work  through  Fraulein  Fliedner  and  joyfully  delivered  it 
back  again  through  hei  hands,  unspeakably  amazed  at  the 
extraordinary  amount  of  money  a  person  could  earn  by 
writing;  for  care  never  troubled  me  again,  and  yet  I 
always  had  a  nice  little  residue  to  dispose  of. 

What  a  change!  I  felt  myself  caught  and  fast  bound 
to  another  soul  beyond  hope  of  rescue,  and  yet  no  longer 
envied  the  little  bird  which  could  wing  its  flight  all  un- 
fettered over  my  native  haide.  On  the  contrary,  I  could 
have  shouted  aloud  to  all  the  four  winds  of  heaven  that 
I  was  a  prisoner;  and,  indeed,  I  should  almost  have  liked 
to  run  my  head  against  one  of  the  trees,  to  feel  but  once 
again  the  joy  of  seeing  how  my  other  self  suffered  with 
me.  For  the  sake  of  that  one  I  forgot  myself  and  the 
whole  world  besides,  and  even  the  fact  that  I  bore  two 
sins  upon  my  conscience — that  of  a  lie  and  the  secret 
complicity  in  a  secret  so  closely  touching  him.  How  did  I 
then  "fall  from  all  my  bliss"  when  Charlotte's  voice  re- 
sounded in  my  ear  or  her  unmistakable  appearance  crossed 
my  vision.  She  observed,  indeed,  a  strict  reserve  toward 
me  now.  The  day  after  the  stormy  evening  she  had  come 
into  my  room. 

"I  will  not  touch  you  with  the  tip  of  my  finger,  nor 
even  let  a  breath  from  my  lips  approach  you,"  she  had 
called  from  the  doorway  bitterly.  "I  only  want  to  make 
peace  with  you,  princess.  Forgive  me  for  what  I  did  to 
you." 

I  had  sprung  toward  her  instantly  and,  much  touched, 
seized  her  hand. 

"Did  you  see  how  I  yesterday  put  our  tyrant  to  the  top 
of  his  bent?  He  is  lost.  I  wander  about  the  house  with 
closed  lips  and  a  heavy  heart.  Every  morsel  I  eat  nearly 
chokes  me  with  rage  and  inward  disgust;  but  I  will  en- 
dure it.  I  must  watch  over  our  precious  treasure  in  the 
writing-table — 1  dare  not  leave  till  Dagobert  conies.  Oh, 
how  I  shall  shout  for  joy  when  at  last  I  shake  off  the 
trammels  of  the  shop  forever  and  set  foot  on  the  floor  of 
my  parents'  house! 

At  this  passionate  outbreak  I  had  let  her  hand  drop  and 
stepped  backward.  Since  that  time  we  had  seldom  met 
alone;  only  when  I  came  back  in  one  of  the  court  carriages 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  263 

from  the  princess,  she  generally  met  me  in  the  yard  and 
accompanied  me  through  the  garden,  and  I  had  to  relate 
and  report  every  particular.  Soon  after  her  visit  at 
Claudius'  house  the  princess  had  fallen  ill  of  a  rheumatic 
attack  and  had  been  obliged  to  leave  K.  to  undergo  a 
speedy  course  of  treatment.  During  her  absence  I,  of 
course,  never  went  to  the  court;  but  now  I  had  to  appear 
there  twice  every  week,  and  those  were  the  only  occasions 
on  which  Herr  Claudius  went  about  with  a  deeply  clouded 
brow. 

Thus  passed  week  after  week  in  alternations  of  happi- 
ness and  heart-breaking  anxiety,  of  inward  strife  and  again 
blessed  peace,  and  now  the  end  of  January  was  approach- 
ing and  with  it  Dagobert.  A  mortal  terror  seized  me  as  I 
heard  that  the  lieutenant  had  arrived,  bag  and  baggage — 
the  dreaded  moment  seemed  to  be  so  near,  in  all  its  depth 
of  darkness  and  gigantic  might;  and  yet  I  felt  that  one 
rapid,  decisive,  if  painful  blow  would  be  far  preferable  to 
this  state  of  hope  and  fear.  Let  the  crisis  be  what  it 
might,  it  would  free  me  at  all  events  from  my  unholy 
participation  in  the  matter,  and  give  me  leave  to  confess 
my  folly  with  sincere  repentance. 

Those  were  troubled  days  to  me,  for  another  burden 
weighed  upon  my  mind — my  father  appeared  to  me  all  of 
a  sudden  strangely  altered.  His  whole  manner  and  bear- 
ing reminded  me  of  the  time  when  the  purchase  of  the 
medal  had  been  in  question.  He  ate  nothing,  and  I  could 
hear  him  wandering  about  restlessly  at  night.  A  strange 
inundation  of  letters  from  all  directions  overwhelmed  him, 
and  every  fresh  one  that  he  opened  increased  the  feverish 
flush  upon  his  sunken  cheek.  He  wrote  incessantly,  but 
not  at  the  manuscript  which  treated  of  the  discoveries  in 
the  Carolinenlust — it  lay  untouched  on  the  writing-table. 
I  strained  my  ears  to  catch  the  words  he  continually  kept 
muttering  to  himself  as  he  paced  up  and  down  the  room, 
but  I  could  not  understand  a  word  and  I  did  not  venture 
to  ask,  lest  I  might  have  excited  his  impatience. 

Never  shall  I  forget  those  hours,  when  his  suppressed 
uneasiness  at  last  broke  forth.  It  was  one  of  those  dreary, 
dark  winter  afternoons  which  hang  like  lead  over  the  earth 
and  mankind.  My  father  had  retired  to  his  own  room  after 
dinner  and  taken  with  him  the  newspapers  which  had  just 
come  in.  A  few  minutes  afterward  i  heard  him  spring  up 


264  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

inside;  he  slammed  the  door  violently  and  rushed  np  to 
the  library.  Anxiously  did  I  follow  him. 

"Father!"  I  cried  imploringly  and  threw  my  arms 
round  him  as  he  rushed  past  me  without  even  seeing  me. 

I  must  have  looked  greatly  terrified,  for  he  ran  both 
his  hands  through  his  hair  and  visibly  made  a  great  effort 
to  be  calm. 

"It  is  nothing,  Lorchen,"  he  said  huskily.  "Go  down- 
stairs again,  my  child.  People  lie — they  grudge  your 
father  his  renown.  They  know  that  they  are  giving  him 
his  death-blow  when  they  dispute  his  authority,  and  now 
they  are  coming  in  a  mass  and  each  with  a  stone  in  his 
hand.  Yes,  stone  him,  stone  him!  He  has  enjoyed 
distinction  too  long  already !" 

Suddenly  he  stopped  and  looked  over  my  head  toward 
the  door.  A  lady  had  entered  noiselessly;  a  very  tall 
person  in  a  velvet  cloak  and  ermine  collar.  She  threw 
back  a  white  veil  and  disclosed — oh,  what  beauty!  I 
thought  involuntarily  on  Snow-white.  Eyes  black  as 
sloes,  snow-white  forehead,  and  cheeks  on  which  lay  a  soft 
rosy  hue. 

My  father  stared  at  her  in  amazement,  while  she  ad- 
vanced toward  us  with  hesitating  steps.  A  faint  smile 
played  around  her  mouth,  and  a  roguish  twinkle  lurked 
in  the  glance  she  gave  my  father.  It  looked  enchanting, 
almost  child-like,  and  yet  I  thought  behind  that  innocent 
demeanor  an  anxious  heart  must  be  beating,  for  the 
cherry-colored  lips  occasionally  twitched  with  nervous 
excitement. 

"He  does  not  know  me,"  she  said  in  pleasing  tones  as 
any  father  continued  silent.  "I  must  remind  him  of  the 
days  when  we  played  together  in  the  garden  at  Hanover, 
and  the  elder  sister  galloped  round  and  round  as  Wilibald's 
horse,  and  many  a  time  felt  the  lash  of  his  whip.  Do  you 
still  remember  it?" 

My  father  drew  back  as  though  he  saw  the  claws  of  a 
monster  appearing  from  under  the  beautiful  lady's  velvet 
mantle.  With  one  freezing  glance  he  measured  her  from 
head  to  foot.  Never  could  I  have  supposed  that  this  man 
with  his  undecided,  absent  ways  could  have  been  capable 
of  displaying  such  repulsive  severity  and  coldness. 

"I  cannot  believe  it  possible,"  he  said  sternly,  "that 
Christine  Wolf,  who  once  indeed  lived  in  my  father  Herr 
Ton  Sassen's  house,  dares  to_cross  my  threshold," 


THE  PRINCESS  OP  THE  MOOR.  j>65 

"Wilibald " 

"I  must  beg  to  be  excused,"  he  interrupted  her,  raising 
his  hand  to  keep  her  off.  "We  have  nothing  to  do  with 
each  other!  Were  you  only  one  who  had  erred  and 
through  the  invincible  love  of  art  been  tempted  to  leave 
your  paternal  roof,  I  should  at  once  receive  you;  but  with 
a  thief  I  will  hold  no  communication." 

''Oh,  Heaven!"  She  clasped  her  hands  together  and 
looked  mournfully  upward.  I  could  not  comprehend  how 
he  was  able  to  withstand  that  Madonna  glance,  though  the 
word  "thief"  had  gone  through  me  like  an  electric 
shock.  "Wilibald,  have  pity.  Do  not  -adge  a  youthful 
error  so  severely,"  she  entreated.  "G-'.ald  I  begin  that 
ardently  longed-for  career  with  empty  hands?  My  mother 
would  not  allow  me  a  single  farthing,  that  you  know,  and 
it  was  so  little,  such  a  mere  trifle,  I  asked  of  that  rich 
woman " 

"Only  12,000  thalers,  which  you  took  o»it  of  her  tight- 
locked  secretary " 

"Had  I  not  a  right  to  it?    Tell  me." 

"And  also  to  the  diamonds  of  the  Bareness  Hanke,  who 
was  just  then  our  guest.  They  disappeared  entirely  with 
you,  and  my  mother  replaced  them  at  the  heaviest  sacrifice 
to  preserve  our  house  from  public  scandal." 

"Lies — all  lies!"  she  shrieked  out. 

"Go  away,  Lorchen.  This  is  no  fitting  place  for  you," 
said  my  father,  leading  me  to  the  door. 

"No,  don't  go  away,  my  sweet  child.  Take  pity  on  me 
and  help  me  to  convince  him  of  my  innocence.  You  are 
Lenore!  Oh,  what  sweet,  happy  eyes!" 

She  took  me  in  her  arms  and  kissed  my  eyelids.  The 
soft  velvet  mantle  fell  over  me;  a  delicious  scent  of  violets 
seemed  to  exhale  from  her  bosom  and  intoxicated  me  com- 
pletely. 

My  father  tore  me  away  from  her  sternly. 

"Don't  delude  my  innocent  child,"  he  exclaimed 
angrily  and  led  me  out. 

I  went  downstairs  and  crouched  on  the  lowest  step  quite 
stunned.  And  so  that  was  my  Aunt  Christine — "the 
skeleton  in  the  family"  as  Use  called  her,  "the  star"  as 
she  had  styled  herself.  And  a  star  she  was,  this  marvel- 
onsly  beautiful  woman.  Everything  I  had  hitherto  seen 
of  female  loveliness  paled  before  the  youthful  aspect  and. 


266  THE  PRINCE8S  OF  THE  MOOR. 

exquisite  complexion  of  my  aunt's  face.  How  heavy  and 
luxuriant  did  her  black  locks  show  off  against  the  white 
ermine!  How  beautiful  was  her  polished  brow,  in  which 
at  the  temples  one  could  observe  the  course  of  the  delicate 
blue  veins!  And  that  soft,  coaxing  voice  was  there  once 
more:  the  treatment  had  proved  effectual!  The  slender 
hands  which  had  held  me  so  gently  and  drawn  me  with 
such  tenderness  to  her  breast — they  had  stolen!  No,  no; 
the  anger  my  aunt  had  shown  at  the  accusation  completely 
disproved  it.  Had  I  not  seen  tears  glistening  in  her  eyes? 

With  beating  heart  I  listened  to  the  conversation  in  the 
library.  I  could  not  catch  a  syllable  nor  did  it  last  long. 
The  door  opened.  "May  God  fcrgive  you,"  I  heard  my 
aunt  say,  and  then  her  dress  came  rustling  down  the 
stairs,  her  steps  became  slower  and  slower,  and  suddenly 
she  leaned  against  the  wall  and  covered  her  eyes.  I  sprang 
up  the  steps  and  seizeJ  her  hand. 

"Aunt  Christine,"  I  called  out,  deeply  agitated. 

She  let  her  hand  fall  slowly  and  gazed  at  me  with  a 
melancholy  smile. 

"My  little  angel,  light  of  my  eyes,  you  don't  believe 
that  I  am  a  robber,  do  you?"  said  she,  stroking  my  chin 
softly.  "The  wicked,  wicked  people,  how  they  have 
hunted  me  with  their  slanders  all  my  life!  What  have  I 
not  had  to  endure!  And  in  what  a  frightful  position  am 
I  now,  when  your  stern  father  inexorably  refuses  to  receive 
me.  Child,  I  have  no  roof  to  cover  me,  no  pillow  whereon 
to  lay  my  head  I  have  reached  K.  with  the  last  penny  in 
my  pocket — I  wanted  to  see  you,  you,  my  little  Lenore. 
Oh  for  a  shelter  even  for  a  few  days;  then  I  could 
arrange  something  for  my  own  assistance." 

That  was  a  painful  position  for  me.  I  would  have 
given  her  up  my  own  bed  at  once  and  slept  on  the  ground, 
so  deeply  was  I  caught  with  this  lady's  charms;  but  against 
my  father's  wish  I  could  not  venture  to  keep  her  in  the 
house.  I  thought  of  Fraulein  Fliedner;  she  was  so  good 
and  ready  to  help  any  one,  perhaps  she  could  advise  me. 
Oh,  all  my  fine  resolutions,  according  to  which  I  had 
intended  hereafter  first  to  reflect  and  then  to  act,  where 
had  they  all  fled  to? 

Without  another  word  I  led  my  aunt  downstairs  and  out 
across  the  gravel  walk — she  followed  me  as  submissively 
£3  a  child.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  turn  into  the  bosquefc 


THE  PRINCESS  OP  THE  MOOtl.  267 

•we  came  upon  the  brother  and  sister;  Charlotte  in  a  rich 
white  satin  bonnet  and  velvet  mantle  thrown  over  her 
shoulders.  They  were  evidently  going  to  take  a  walk. 

I  had  not  yet  seen  "the  young  lieutenant,"  for  I  had 
studiously  avoided  him,  though  he  had  sought  me  for  daya 
in  the  Carolinenlust.  Now  I  felt  afraid  of  him  and  in  my 
inmost  soul  shrank  from  him.  He  also  seemed  surprised. 
His  brown  eyes,  of  which  I  had  a  horror  ever  since  the 
explosion  that  day  in  the  bel-etage,  were  fixed  on  me  with 
a  peculiar  expression.  I  made  as  though  I  did  not  see  the 
hand  he  offered  me  with  a  smile  and  introduced  my  aunt 
to  Charlotte.  I  noticed,  with  no  small  astonishment,  that 
a  strong  emotion  passed  like  a  flash  of  lightning  over  the 
unfortunate  lady's  face ;  she  seemed  about  to  speak,  but 
not  a  sound  escaped  her  lips. 

Charlotte  bent  her  head  slightly  and  measured  the 
person  standing  before  her  with  rather  a  haughty  glance. 

"Fraulein  Fliedner  will  scarcely  be  able  to  assist  you," 
she  said  coldly  to  me  as  I  explained  my  intention  in  a  few 
words.  "We  have  very  little  room  in  the  front  house. 
If  you  take  my  advice  you  will  apply  to  your  friends  the 
Helldorfs — they  no  doubt  have  a  little  room  you  could 
take  your  aunt  to." 

I  turned  away  disgusted  and  my  aunt  hastily  drew  down 
her  veil. 

Just  at  that  moment  Sehafer,  the  gardener,  passed  and 
saluted  us.  The  Swiss  cottage  was  his  property,  and  I 
knew  that  he  often  let  the  so-called  best  room  of  his  late 
wife  to  strangers.  I  ran  after  him  and  inquired  about  it. 
He  was  quite  ready  to  take  my  aunt  in  on  the  spot,  and 
begged  her  to  accompany  him  at  once;  everything  was 
"in  the  neatest  order." 

Without  casting  another  glance  at  the  brother  and  sister 
she  followed  the  old  man,  who  spoke  to  her  in  his  kind, 
gentle  way  and  conducted  her  to  the  gate  of  which  I  had 
the  key.  Was  it  that  some  inward  excitement  drove  her 
on?  Schafer  could  scarcely  keep  pace  with  her,  and  in 
spite  of  every  exertion  on  my  part  I  was  left  a  considerable 
way  behind. 

"For  pity's  sake,  shake  yourself  free  of  this  aunt,"  said 
Charlotte,  running  after  me.  "She  will  do  you  no  credit 
— the  paint  is  inch  deep  on  her  face;  and  then  this  imita- 
tion ermine,  Fi  done  I  Child,  you  have  singular  relations 


268  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

— a  grandmother  a  born  Jewess,  and  now  this  out-and-out 
actress!  Apropos,  don't  be  too  late  this  evening.  Uncle 
Eric  is,  contrary  to  all  expectations,  going  to  spend  a  nice 
sum  of  money;  the  conservatory  is  going  to  be  brilliantly 
illuminated.  May  it  be  for  his  good!" 

She  laughed  aloud  and  took  Dagobert's  arm,  who  was 
standing  looking  after  my  aunt  with  an  inquiring  eye. 

"I  don't  know — I — must  have  seen  that  woman  before," 
he  said,  putting  his  hand  up  in  reflection  to  his  head. 
"Heaven  knows  where." 

"Oh,  that  is  very  conceivable.  You  have  seen  her  on 
the  stage,"  said  Charlotte,  drawing  him  on  impatiently. 

Deeply  annoyed,  I  looked  after  them.  Poor  aunt!  She 
•was,  indeed,  an  unfortunate  woman,  hunted  by  all  man- 
kind, and  her  beauty,  the  only  thing  that  still  remained 
to  her,  was  that  to  be  called — painted  ? 

I  thought  the  little  room  into  which  Schafer  conducted 
TIS  was  a  thoroughly  pretty  and  nice  one.  The  old  man 
had  lighted  a  fire  in  the  stove  in  the  space  of  a  few  minutes 
and  filled  the  window-sill  with  pots  of  roses  and  mignon- 
ette. 

"Low  and  narrow,"  said  my  aunt,  raising  her  arm  as 
though  about  to  touch  the  snow-white  ceiling.  "I  am 
not  accustomed  to  that,  but  I  will  manage  to  get  on.  One 
can  bear  everything  with  a  good  will,  can  one  not,  my  lit- 
tle angel?" 

She  threw  off  her  bonnet  and  cloak  and  stood  before  me 
in  a  velvet  dress  of  royal  blue.  The  splendid  garment  was 
indeed  faded  and  worn  at  the  seams  and  elbows,  but  it 
clothed  a  form  like  a  sylph.  The  small  train  completed 
the  truly  regal  aspect  of  her  whole  appearance,  and  from 
the  low-cut  bodice  peeped  forth  Snow-white's  gleaming 
bosom.  And  what  hair!  It  waved  round  her  forehead 
and  fell  in  long  curls  down  her  back  and  bosom,  and  yet 
the  richest  plaits  were  coiled  round  her  delicately  shaped 
head.  How  it  sustained  this  fabulous  splendor  I  could 
not  understand,  still  less  that  she  could  move  it  about  so 
easily. 

This  unconcealed  admiration  she  read,  no  doubt,  writ- 
ten on  my  face. 

"Well,  little  Lenore,  are  you  pleased  with  your  aunt?" 
she  said,  with  a  roguish  smile. 

"Oh,  you  are  too  lovely,"  I  exclaimed  enthusiastically. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  269 

"And  so  young— so  young.     How  is  that  possible?    You 
are  three  years  older  than  my  father." 

"Silly  thing,  there  is  no  occasion  to  scream  that  to  all 
the  four  winds  of  heaven,"  she  said,  with  a  forced  laugh, 
laying  her  soft  hand  on  my  mouth. 

Her  eyes  scanned  the  small  apartment  and  finally  rested 
on  a  little  looking-glass  hanging  on  the  wall. 

''Oh,  that  won't  do,  that  really  won't  do,"  she  ex- 
claimed in  a  horrified  tone.  :'0ne  can  scarcely  see  the  tip 
of  one's  nose  in  this  fragment.  How  could  I  make  my 
toilet?  I  am  no  peasant  woman,  child.  I  have  been 
accustomed  to  live  like  a  princess.  One  may  give  in  for 
once  in  many  things,  but  that  I  cannot.  You  will  get  me 
a  proper  glass,  won't  you?  that  I  may  have  something  a 
little  more  as  I  am  accustomed  to.  Yonder  in  that  castle 
you  are  inhabiting  at  present  there  is  no  doubt  a  super- 
fluous mirror.  Child — in  confidence— every  attention  you 
pay  me  in  this  hour  of  temporary  distress  shall  be  amply 
repaid  you  hereafter.  Let  what  I  require  for  my  con- 
venience be  quietly  brought  over.  I  will  answer  for  it." 

"How  can  I  do  that,  aunt?"  I  replied,  quite  stunned. 
"The  furniture  in  our  rooms  belongs  to  Herr  Claudius." 

She  smiled. 

"I  should  not  like  to  place  a  chair  other  than  as  I  found 
it,"  I  continued,  gravely  remonstrating.  "Out  of  the 
Carolinenlust  I  cannot  possibly  procure  you  anything,  but 
perhaps  Frau  Helldorf  can  give  you  what  you  require. 
We  will  see." 

I  felt  more  than  ever  cast  down  as  I  saw  the  unfavorable 
glance  with  which  the  little  woman  received  my  handsome, 
decorated  protegee.  It  was  of  no  avail  that  my  aunt 
addressed  all  manner  of  pretty  speeches  to  her  in  the 
sweetest  voice  and  called  the  two  children  that  were  play- 
ing in  the  room  angels.  My  friend's  delicate  face  lost 
nothing  of  its  cold  and  suspicious  reserve,  and  as  I  finally 
ventured  on  the  request  about  the  glass,  she  became  like  a 
statue,  took  her  only  one  of  tolerable  size  from  the  wall, 
gave  it  to  the  handsome  lady,  and  said  with  undisguised 
mockery : 

"I  can  manage  without  it." 

"Be  cautious,  Lenore,  I  beg  you.  I  will  watch  too," 
she  whispered  to  me  in  the  front  room  as  the  blue  velvet 
dress  disappeared  up  the  stairs. 


270  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Very  much  dejected,  I  laid  my  pnrse  upon  the  table.  In 
return,  I  received  a  kiss  and  the  assurance  that  "all  my 
little  sacrifices"  would  in  a  short  time  be  repaid  a  thou- 
sandfold. Then,  however,  my  aunt  devoted  herself  to  the 
task  of  placing  the  looking-glass  in  the  best  possible  "ight, 
and  I  returned  to  the  Carolinenlust  with  a  double  weight 
upon  my  heart. 


XXIX. 

THE  evening  twilight  was  stealing  in  when  I  again  en- 
tered the  library.  My  father  was  wandering  about  the 
quiet  chamber  of  antiquities  amid  all  the  pale,  motionless 
forms,  and  did  not  again  allude  to  his  cast-off  sister  by  a 
syllable.  He  may  have  thought  she  was  gone  forever, 
would  never  cross  his  path  again,  and  that  the  sooner  I 
forgot  the  circumstance  the  better.  Shivering,  I  wrapped 
my  shawl  more  closely  round  me.  It  was  bitterly  cold  in 
the  large,  fireless  room,  and  a  light  fall  of  snow  enveloped 
the  skylight  outside. 

"You  will  catch  cold  here,  papa,"  I  said,  taking  his 
hand.  It  burned  like  a  coal;  and  how  his  eyes  glowed 
in  the  sunken  sockets! 

"Catch  cold?  It  is  delightful  here.  It  is  just  as  if  a 
cool  bandage  had  been  bound  round  my  head." 

"But  it  is  very  late,"  I  replied,  hesitating,  "and  you 
must  arrange  your  dress  a  little.  I  think  you  have  for- 
gotten that  the  princess  is  coming  again  to-day  to  see  the 
large  conservatory  illuminated." 

"Ah,  what  have  I  to  do  with  the  conservatory?"  he 
exclaimed  impatiently.  "Do  you  want  to  set  me  mad 
with  the  lights  and  perfumes  of  the  flowers,  which  always 
affect  the  nerves  of  my  brain?  Nothing,  nothing.  What 
do  I  care  for  the  princess  or  the  duke  either?" 

His  violent  motions  and  the  way  in  which  he  threw  his 
arms  about  knocked  down  a  lovely  little  statue  from  its 
pedestal,  and,  strange  to  say,  he  who  never  touched  these 
"antiques"  except  in  the  gentlest  and  most  careful  manner 
scarcely  noticed  the  mischief  he  had  done,  and  allowed 
the  little  goddess  to  lie  there  unobserved.  Terribly 
alarmed,  I  essayed  to  soothe  him. 

"Just  as  you  like,  papa>"  I  replied.  "I  will  send  ove* 
to  the  ether  hmis*  at  ecce  and  tafouee  <mr— «»»''' 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  271 

"No,  no.  You  must  go,  at  all  events,  Lorchen,"  he 
interrupted  me  in  a  calmer  tone.  "I  wish  you  to  do  se 
on  account  of  the  princess,  who  is  fond  of  you,  and  I  also 
wish  to  spend  this  evening  alone." 

He  went  into  the  library  again  and  made  as  though  he 
were  busy  at  his  writing-table.  I  shut  the  doors,  stirred 
up  the  fire  in  the  stove,  and  arranged  the  tea-table;  then 
I  went  downstairs  and  with  a  beating  heart  began  to  dress 
myself;  that  is  to  say,  I  took  the  pearls  my  grandmother 
had  given  me  for  the  first  time  again  out  of  their  case  and 
twined  them  among  my  curls.  The  glittering  beads  shone 
amid  my  dark  hair  with  almost  fabulous  brilliancy,  and 
with  far  more  striking  effect  than  when  I  had  worn  them 
round  my  neck — that  was  just  what  I  wished.  Who  could 
tell  when  the  princess  would  be  seen  in  the  Claudius  con- 
servatory again! 

It  was  late  when  I  at  last  crossed  over  the  bridge  and 
approached  the  conservatory.  I  stood  for  one  moment 
dazzled.  The  last  rays  of  the  waning  light  shone  faintly 
from  the  fleecy  clouds  above  me;  the  frozen  snow  crackled 
ankle-deep  beneath  my  feet;  and  wherever  I  turned  mine 
eye  the  trees  and  bushes,  laden  heaily  with  snow,  stretched 
forth  their  specter-like  branches  toward  me.  Yonder  the 
magnificent  palm  trees  were  towering  in  lofty  grace  above 
the  wilderness  of  cactuses  and  ferns  and  the  green  patches 
of  velvet  sward  between,  while  in  the  midst  rose  the  foun- 
tain, falling  in  silver  spray  around.  Bathed  in  the  hidden 
light  of  the  gas-jets,  the  green  melted  into  a  thousand 
shades,  from  the  tender  evanescent  hue  of  spring  to  that 
of  the  darkest  pine.  The  conservatory  lay  in  the  midst  of 
the  pale  field  of  snow  like  an  emerald  rosette  on  white 
velvet. 

"Ah,  good-evening,  my  little  one,"  said  the  princess  as 
I  advanced  toward  her.  She  was  sitting  in  the  center  of 
a  group  of  ferns,  in  the  self-same  spot  where  I  had  told 
rny  grandmother's  story.  Herr  Claudius  was  standing 
somewhat  on  one  side  of  her  chair  talking  to  her,  while 
her  suit  and  the  brother  and  sister  had  arranged  ^hem- 
selves  in  careless  groups  on  either  side.  "Haide  princess, 
you  come  forth  just  like  a  water-sprite,"  she  said,  jesting. 
"One  would  think  you  had  just  stepped  out  of  the  foun- 
tain. Child,  do  not  you  really  know  what  a  costly  treas- 
ure you  are  wearing  so  carel«wly  in  those  rich  wild,  tresses 


272  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Yes,  your  highness,  I  do  know.  These  pearls  are  the 
remnant  of  a  great  property,"  I  replied,  endeavoring  with 
all  my  might  to  steady  my  voice  and  give  it  a  calm,  ring- 
ing tone.  "My  poor  grandmother  said,  when  at  her  desire 
they  were  tied  round  my  neck,  that  they  had  witnessed 
much  domestic  happiness,  which,  however,  had  fled  before 
the  persecutions  and  martyrdoms  which  Christian  intoler- 
ance had  heaped  upon  the  Jews;  for  my  dear  grandmother 
was  a  Jewess,  your  highness,  a  Jacobsohn  of  Hanover  by 
birth." 

I  had  uttered  the  last  words  with  marked  emphasis  in  a 
loud  voice  and  looked  up  at  the  same  time  at  Herr 
Claudius.  What  did  I  care  that  Herr  von  Wismar  hemmed 
in  embarrassment  and  glanced  shyly  at  the  princess,  while 
Fraulein  von  Wildenspring  made  a  gesture  of  triumph,  as 
though  she  wished  to  say:  "Was  I  not  right  when  my 
aristocratic  nose  scented  the  burgher  element  in  this  little 
mortal?'*  What  did  I  care  that  the  handsome  Tancred 
bit  his  lip  fiercely  and  with  a  gesture  of  disdain  whispered 
some  words  in  Charlotte's  ear?  Did  I  not  see  the  start  of 
joy  with  which  Herr  Claudius'  face  shone?  I  almost 
thought  he  was  going  to  stretch  his  hands  out  to  me  and 
draw  me  to  his  strong,  proud  heart,  because  I  had  over- 
come my  false  shame,  because  to  win  back  his  respect  I 
had  bravely  faced  the  disdain  of  the  aristocratic  party. 

"Ah,  that  is  indeed  a  very  piquante  discovery,"  ex- 
claimed the  princess  merrily  and  perfectly  unembarrassed. 
"Now  I  know  how  my  little  favorite  comes  by  this 
thoroughly  Oriental  profile.  Yes,  no  doubt  it  was  just 
such  a  raven-tressed  maiden,  with  just  such  quicksilver 
feet,  that  persuaded  Herod  to  give  her  John  the  Baptist's 
head.  The  next  time  you  come  to  me  I  should  like  to 
hear  more  about  your  interesting  grandmother.  Do  you 
hear  me,  child?"  She  wound  the  string  of  pearls  still 
tighter  in  my  hair  and  twined  her  fingers  gently  in  it.  "I 
am  sincerely  fond  of  this  little  Rebecca,"  she  said,  "with 
her  pure  child's  mind  and  little  chattering  tongue,"  she 
added  with  deep  fervor  as  she  bent  down  and  kissed  me. 

Ah,  my  chattering  had  not  been  altogether  harmless  on 
this  occasion,  as  he  whose  glance  never  left  me  knew  too 
well. 

The  princess  drew  me  down  on  a  little  stool  at  her  feet, 
and  there  I  remained,  silent  but  attentive,  till  Fraulein 


THE  PRTNCBSS  OP  THE  MOOR.  373 

Fliedner  came  and  announced  that  everything  in  the  front 
house  was  ready.  The  royal  lady  had  begged  a  cup  of  tea 
might  be  prepared  for  her  in  the  interesting  old  house. 
Her  sufferings  from  rheumatism  forbade  her  remaining 
too  long  in  the  moist  warm  atmosphere  of  the  conservatory. 
She  wrapped  her  fur  round  her,  and  taking  Herr  Claudius' 
arm  preceded  the  gayly  chatting  party  through  the  snow- 
clad  garden.  The  accompaniment  of  a  lantern-bearer  was 
not  necessary.  The  clouds  in  the  sky  had  dispersed  and 
the  light  shone  though  the  moaning  poplars,  throwing 
fantastic  shadows  on  the  snow.  The  moon  rose. 

I  crossed  the  bridge  once  more  and  looked  up  at  the 
windows  of  the  library.  The  curtains  were  not  yet  drawn. 
The  lamp  ou  my  father's  writing-table  was  burning 
quietly,  and  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the  great  dark  room, 
near  the  stove,  where  the  supper-table  was  laid,  I  saw  a 
pale-blue  flame  flickering — it  was  the  spirit-lamp  under 
the  tea-kettle.  That  looked  comfortable.  Still  further  I 
slipped  into  the  house,  up  the  stairs,  and  listened  at  the 
door;  my  father  was  no  doubt  writing.  Completely 
reassured,  I  returned  to  the  front  house. 

On  that  day  the  old  familiar  spirits  of  the  Firma  Clau- 
dius must  have  hidden  themselves  in  some  corner.  Such 
an  illumination  would  never  have  been  allowed  by  the 
noble  old  merchants,  even  at  the  christening  of  a  future 
chief. 

"What  on  earth  has  come  over  the  master  to-day, 
Fraulein  Fliedner?  He  can't  have  light  enough," 
grumbled  old  Erdmann  in  amazement  and  laying  a  ladder 
against  the  wall  of  the  upper  corridor  as  I  came  up  the 
stairs.  "I  must  actually  hang  up  here  the  two  great 
lamps  from  the  business  premises." 

"Let  it  be  so,  Erdmann,"  said  Fraulein  Fliedner,  who 
just  then  came  out  of  the  saloon — a  real  flood  of  light 
streamed  from  within.  "I  am  delighted  that  the  light  is 
breaking  forth  once  more  in  the  old  Claudius  house." 

She  stroked  my  hair  with  a  gentle  meaning  smile  and 
passed  on  into  the  hall. 

That  smile  brought  the  blood  to  my  cheeks.  I  let  my 
hand  fall  timidly  as  I  was  about  to  open  the  door.  I  felt 
as  though  I  could  not  possibly  face  the  blaze  of  the  count- 
less wax-lights  just  at  that  moment.  I  went  into  Char- 
lotte's room.  It  was  empty.  Two  lamps  burned  on  the 


274  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

open  piano  and  the  clatter  of  cups  and  saucers  was  audible 
from  the  saloon,  where  the  handsome  Lothar's  portrait 
was,  as  well  as  the  sound  of  speaking.  I  was  still  standing 
there  thinking  how  I  could  make  my  entry  so  as  to  attract 
least  attention,  when  I  heard  a  rustling  in  the  next  room 
and  Charlotte  entered,  accompanied  by  her  brother. 

"The  princess  wishes  to  hear  me  sing,"  said  she,  tossing 
over  her  notes.  "How  did  you  get  in  here  and  where  did 
you  hide  yourself  till  now,  little  one?  You  were  missed 
yonder." 

"I  was  anxious  about  my  father  and  went  to  see  after 
him.  He  is  not  well." 

"Not  well,"  laughed  Dagobert  softly,  already  seated  at 
the  piano,  preluding.  "Oh,  yes,  a  very  bad  and  serious 
indisposition  is  his!  I  heard  this  interesting  piece  of  news 
at  the  club  already.  Nothing  else  was  spoken  of,  and  the 
cry  of  delight  is  running  through  the  town  like  wildfire 
that  this  archaeological  mania  is  now  on  its  last  legs.  In 
a  short  time  we  shall  have  a  new  style  of  things  here, 
Charlotte.  Thank  Heaven,  one  is  not  called  on  any  longer 
to  break  their  jaws  with  Grecian,  Roman,  and  Egyptian 
gibberish — it  was  hard  enough."  He  ran  up  and  down 
the  keys  with  both  hands,  breaking  into  brilliant  runs, 
while  I  stood  paralyzed  with  the  shock.  "And  just  at  the 
moment  when  your  papa's  position  is  shaken  you  select 
with  such  delicious  naivete  to  relate  that  he  is  descended 
directly  from  the  Jews.  That  will  complete  his  downfall. " 

"Yes,  that  was  a  little  blunder.  Don't  take  it  ill  if  I 
say  so,"  said  Charlotte,  laying  a  piece  of  music  on  the 
piano.  "I  don't  want  you  just  to  tell  a  lie — I  wouldn't  do 
that  myself;  but  under  such  circumstances  one  can  observe 
a  middle  path — one  can  keep  silence." 

Dagobert  began  the  accompaniment  and  immediately 
after  Charlotte's  powerful  voice  was  heard. 

What  had  happened?  All  that  the  handsome  Tancred 
had  been  saying  had  sounded  so  obscure,  accompanied  as 
it  was  by  his  own  careless  and  mocking  laughter,  inter- 
spersed with  innumerable  trills  and  cadences.  I  looked  at 
the  wretch  with  indescribable  bitterness.  He  had  termed 
my  father's  work  "the  archaeological  mania;"  he  who  had 
bored  the  renowned  man  as  his  subservient  "familiar" 
and  often  enough  been  a  grievous  trouble.  This  much  I 
understood,  that  my  father's  position  at  court  was  shaken, 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  2?5 

ftnd  that  the  cowardly  plotters,  who  had  formerly  been 
among  his  flatterers,  were  now  turning  against  him  in  his 
fall. 

The  princess  had  never  been  so  kind  or  so  affectionate 
to  me  as  on  that  evening,  and  yet  I  could  not  bring  myself 
at  that  moment  to  approach  her  again.  I  slipped  into  the 
adjoining  room  and  hid  myself  in  a  dark  corner,  while 
Charlotte's  powerful  voice  sang  on.  From  my  position  I 
could  overlook  the  tea-table  quite  well.  The  princess  sat 
sideways  under  Lothar's  picture,  not  in  accordance  with 
her  own  wish  certainly,  for  I  saw  her  frequent  but  furtive 
efforts  to  get  a  full  look  at  the  portrait.  On  her  left  sat 
Herr  Claudius.  One  glance  at  that  calm  and  noble  face 
soothed  my  angry,  anxious  heart.  What  radiance  shone 
this  evening  on  his  brow!  The  splendid  head  of  the 
soldier  as  it  hung  above  it  with  its  expression  of  soul  may 
have  had  handsomer  features  and  a  more  strikingly  ardent 
expression,  but  of  what  use  had  all  his  warrior's  courage 
been  to  him?  He  had  not  been  able  to  engage  in  the 
struggle  of  life.  The  wicked  self-destroyer  had  fallen, 
while  the  calm,  resigned  one  yonder  had  seized  the  half- 
torn  rudder  with  one  powerful  effort  and  thus  saved  him- 
self. 

"You  have  a  fine  voice,  Friiulein  Claudius,"  said  the 
princess  when  Charlotte  returned  to  the  tea-table  at  the 
conclusion  of  her  song.  "It  reminds  me,  especially  in  the 
middle  tones,  of  my  sister  Sidonie's  mezzo  soprano.  Your 
animated,  ardent  delivery,  too,  reminds  me  of  by-gone 
days.  My  sister  preferred  wild  and  original  compositions 
fco  the  simple  ballad." 

"If  your  highness  will  allow  me,  I  will  sing  such  a  wild 
and  original  melody,"  replied  Charlotte  quickly.  "I  de- 
light in  the  Tarantella — it  intoxicates  me.  'Gia  la 
lima '  " 

"I  beg  you  will  not  sing  the  Tarantella,  Charlotte,"  in- 
terrupted Herr  Claudius,  with  quiet  gravity.  His  voice 
did  not  falter,  but  a  deadly  pallor  overspread  his  face  and 
he  frowned  portentously. 

"You  are  quite  right,  Herr  Claudius,"  said  the  princess 
eagerly.  "I  share  your  antipathy.  This  Tarantella  was 
completely  the  rage  in  my  day— it  was  the  stalking-horse 
of  every  professional  singer;  and  Sidonie,  too,  to  my 
iuiuoyan.ee,  was  passionately  fond  of  singing  it.  Its  style 


276  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

is  too  bacchanalian  for  my  taste."  She  pushed  away  her 
cup  and  rose.  "I  think  we  will  set  out  now  on  a  voyage 
of  discoveries,"  she  said,  smiling.  "I  want  to  examine 
this  singular  old-fashioned  establishment  thoroughly  for 
once.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  were  reading  out  of  some 
very  old  book  every  time  I  raise  my  eyes.  Herr  von  Wis- 
.mar,  do  you  see  that  magnificent  stag's  head  yonder?" 
She  pointed  to  the  most  distant  of  the  long  range  of  apart- 
ments. "There  is  something  to  please  you !" 

The  chamberlain  immediately  wandered  off  and  the 
young  lady  with  him.  Her  highness  wished  to  be  alone. 
Just  at  this  moment  Charlotte  turned  her  head,  so  that  I 
had  a  full  view  of  her  face.  At  sight  of  those  strained 
features,  that  flickering  restlessness  and  passion  in  the 
eyes,  I  knew  at  once  that  the  young  girl  had  decided  on 
effecting  her  object,  if  possible,  that  evening.  Just  now, 
indeed,  she  was  dutifully  following  the  two  court  puppets 
by  her  brother's  side  to  the  deer's  head  so  imperiously 
pointed  out  by  the  noble  lady,  while  the  princess  remained 
alone  in  the  small  room  adjoining  the  saloon,  apparently 
intensely  interested  in  the  sufferings  of  Genoveva  as  de- 
picted in  the  splendid  coloring  of  the  old  tapestry. 

"Do  you  know  where  Fraulein  von  Sassen  is,  Fraulein 
Fliedner?"  inquired  Herr  Claudius,  who  was  just  entering 
the  room  where  I  was. 

"Here  I  am,  Herr  Claudius,"  I  replied,  rising. 

"Ah,  my  little  heroine!"  he  said,  coming  rapidly  to- 
ward me  and  forgetting  that  others  around  us  would 
notice  this  unwonted  animation  in  his  voice  and  move- 
ments. Fraulein  Fliedner  drew  back  at  once  and  busied 
herself  at  the  tea-table. 

/  "You  have  buried  yourself  in  the  very  darkest  corner 
,  to-day,  just  when  I  wished  to  flood  my  haide  princess  with 
all  the  light  the  old  house  could  yield,"  he  said  in  a  sup- 
pressed voice.  "Do  you  know,  too,  that  in  these  precious 
hours  I  have  been  celebrating  a  kind  of  second  birth?  I 
was  very  young  indeed  when  I  condemned  myself  to  walk 
in  the  discreet  paths  of  age  for  evermore.  Roughly  and 
ruthlessly  I  quenched  the  springs  of  youth  in  my  heart — I 
didn't  want  to  be  young  any  longer — and  now,  when  in 
reality  I  am  no  longer  so,  these  same  springs  have  broken 
forth  once  more  and  demand  their  rights,  their  ancient 
inalienable  rights — and  I  have  yielded  to  them.  I 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  27? 

am  indescribably  happy  at  feeling  myself  young  once  more, 
as  though  that  precious  gem  within  my  breast  had  re- 
mained untouched  either  by  time  or  unfortunate  experi- 
ences. Is  not  that  foolish  of  'the  old,  the  dead  old  man' 
you  first  saw  in  the  haide?" 

My  head  sank  upon  my  breast,  which  was  heaving  with 
agitation.  The  anxiety  about  my  father,  dread  of  Char- 
lotte's doings,  the  people  by  whom  we  were  surrounded — 
all,  all  fled  before  the  soft  tones  half -whispered  in  my  ear, 
and  he,  with  his  piercing  glance,  no  doubt  he  read  what 
was  passing  within. 

"Lenore,"  said  he,  bending  over  me,  "we  will  fancy  we 
two  are  totally  alone  in  the  old  mercantile  house  and  have 
nothing  to  do  with  all  those  over  there."  He  pointed  to 
the  other  room.  "I  know  for  whom  your  brave  confession 
this  evening  was  intended.  I  take  the  joy  of  that  moment 
entirely  to  myself,  lay  claim  to  it  myself  against  the  whole 
world,  yes,  in  spite  of  yourself  if  the  old  self-will  tempted 
you  to  deny  it.  Our  souls  touch,  even  though  you  may 
long  enough  resist  in  yielding  me  up  the  hand  which  once 
threw  my  money  at  my  feet." 

A  few  rapid  strides  brought  him  to  the  piano,  and  imme- 
diately after  tones  such  as  threw  me  into  a  kind  of  ecstasy 
fell  upon  my  ear:  and  these  exquisite  harmonies  were  in- 
spired by  me,  an  insignificant  little  being!  They  had 
"nothing  to  do  with  those"  whose  conversation  was  wafted 
to  us  from  the  distant  chamber.  Yes,  high  rose  the 
liberated  springs  of  youth  in  the  heart  which  had  suffered 
so  sorely,  which  had  sought  to  atone  for  a  brief  period 
of  mighty  passion  by  the  sacrifice  and  resignation  of  life's 
happiness  and  life's  enjoyment.  And  those  hands  which 
had  "never  touched  the  keys  since"  now  began  .the  air 
•expressive  of  the  secret  link  which  bound  his  mature  and 
'powerful  mind  with  my  weak,  vacillating,  childish  one — 

"  Oh,  wert  thou  in  the  cauld  blast 

On  yonder  lea ; 
My  plaidie  to  the  angry  airt, 
I'd  shelter  thee !" 

"Good  heavens,  is  not  that  Herr  Claudius  playing?" 
said  Frilulein  Fliedner,  coming  into  the  saloon  and  clasp- 
ing her  hands  with  joy  at  sight  of  who  was  sitting  at  the 
piano. 


278  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  passed  by  her — I  could  not  possibly  let  her  see  my  face. 
I  hid  myself  in  one  of  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  windows, 
behind  the  thick,  heavy  silk  curtains,  which  I  drew  to- 
gether, all  but  one  little  slit;  thence  my  cheeks  might 
glow  and  my  eyes  peep  out  in  happy  peace.  None 
troubled  themselves  about  me,  not  even  Friiulein  Fliedner, 
who  had  sat  herself  down  in  the  remotest  corner  and 
yielded  herself  up  to  the  delight  of  listening. 

For  one  moment  the  saloon  remained  empty.  Every 
tone,  even  the  faintest,  floated  toward  me,  a  burst  of 
laughter  occasionally  reaching  me  from  the  room  with  the 
deer's  head. 

Suddenly  the  princess  crossed  the  threshold.  I  saw  how 
she  breathed  freely  at  rinding  herself  at  last  alone.  She 
took  the  shade  oif  the  lamp  standing  on  the  tea-table,  so 
that  the  light  fell  directly  on  Lothar's  portrait.  Once 
again  she  gave  a  hasty  and  suspicious  glance  round  that 
and  the  adjoining  room,  then  stepped  up  to  the  picture, 
drew  a  book  from  her  pocket,  and  with  the  utmost  rapidity 
drew  a  few  pencil  lines  on  the  paper.  She  evidently 
sought  to  catch  the  outlines  of  the  handsome  head,  or  per- 
haps only  ''the  eyes  so  full  of  soul." 

I  started  in  my  hiding-place,  for  all  at  once  I  saw  into 
the  noble  lady's  proud  heart,  and  said  to  myself  that  she 
would  give  years  of  her  life  if  she  might  call  the  portrait 
on  the  wall  her  own.  No  one  could  have  sympathized 
more  fully  with  her  at  that  moment  than  I,  the  happy 
one  to  whom  that  "other  soul"  was  speaking  in  touching 
melodies.  I  felt  as  though  I  must  spring  up  and  seize 
both  book  and  pencil  to  conceal  them,  for  she  did  not 
hear  the  steps  approaching  through  the  whole  length  of 
the  rooms.  She  did  not  look  up  as  Charlotte  passed  noise- 
lessly up  the  room,  casting  a  sidelong  glance  at  her,  and 
started  back  in  blank  amazement  as  in  the  pianoforte 
player  she  recognized  Herr  Claudius.  Before  I  could 
foresee  it  she  had  softly  closed  the  door,  so  that  the  music 
was  heard  more  faintly — then,  with  a  few  steps,  she  stood 
behind  the  princess. 

The  noise  at  last  caused  the  distinguished  sketcher  to 
look  up.  The  crimson  of  terror  overspread  her  whole 
face,  but  she  recovered  herself  with  inconceivable  rapidity, 
closed  the  book,  and  cast  a  glance  of  proud  indignation 
over  her  shoulder  at  the  disturber. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TffE  MOO&.  tfg 

"Your  highness,  I  know  that  I  seem  guilty  of  an  inex- 
cusable intrusion,"  said  Charlotte.  Every  nerve  in  the 
strong,  self-possessed  girl's  frame  trembled;  I  could  hear 
it  in  her  voice.  "It  is  a  favorable  moment,  which  I  have 
boldly  seized  without  permission,  in  order  to  speak  to  your 
highness;  but  I  do  not  know  how  to  accomplish  it  other- 
wise. Even  if  your  highness  would  grant  me  an  audience 
at  any  time  at  the  castle,  I  believe  I  should  not  find  the 
courage  to  say  that  which  beneath  the  shelter  of  those 
eyes" — she  pointed  to  Lothar's  picture — "I  venture  trust- 
fully." 

The  princess  turned  to  her  now  in  unfeigned  surprise 
and  said : 

"And  what  have  you  to  say  to  me?" 

Charlotte  sank  on  her  knees,  seized  the  noble  lady's 
hand,  and  pressed  it  to  her  lips. 

"Your  highness,  help  my  brother  and  me  to  our  rights!" 
she  entreated  in  a  half-choked  voice.  "We  are  deceived 
as  to  our  real  name;  we  have  to  eat  the  bread  of  depend- 
ence while  we  have  the  fullest  claims  to  a  considerable 
fortune  and  might  have  been  long  independent.  Proud, 
noble  blood  flows  in  our  veins,  and  yet  we  are  bound  with 
chains  to  this  Kramer  house  and  compelled  to  share  in  its 
burgher  life." 

"Stand  up  and  collect  yourself,  Friiulein  Claudius," 
interrupted  the  princess.  Her  highness'  very  grave  de- 
meanor was  not  encouraging.  "Tell  me,  first,  who 
deceives  you?" 

"It  will  not  cross  my  lips,  because  it  looks  like  black 
ingratitude.  The  world  knows  us  only  as  the  adopted 
children  of  a  large-hearted  man." 

"I  also " 

"And  yet  it  is  he  who  is  robbing  us,"  Charlotte  broke 
out  in  despair. 

"Stop.  Such  a  man  as  Herr  Claudius  neither  robs  nor 
deceives.  I  should  far  rather  suspect  you  to  be  guilty  of  a 
grievous  mistake." 

I  should  like  to  have  sprung  out  and  embraced  the 
lady's  knees  for  that  speech. 

Charlotte  raised  her  head.  It  was  evident  she  was 
gathering  up  all  her  courage.  With  a  rapid  movement 
she  also  shut  the  door,  through  which  came  the  sound  of 
a  lively  conversation  between  Dagobert  and  the  maid  of 
Jionor. 


280  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Your  highness,  this  is  not  a  question  of  money — that 
is  quite  another  matter,"  she  said  decidedly.  "Herr 
Claudius  is  fond  of  property,  but  I  am  myself  thoroughly 
convinced  that  he  would  reject  any  such  unjust  acquisi- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  your  highness  will  admit  that 
many  a  fine  character  has  by  the  passionate  following  up 
of  an  idea,  an  obstinate,  blind  view  of  something,  been 
led  first  to  deceive  themselves  and  afterward  to  commit 
crimes  against  others." 

She  pressed  her  hand  to  her  breast  and  took  a  deep 
breath,  the  wondrous  melodies  soaring  aloft  yonder  the 
while.  After  the  lapse  of  long  years  the  pent-up  soul  was 
unsuspectingly  bursting  forth  in  thrilling  tones,  and  here 
was  his  stainless  name  brought  in  question  and  I  durst  not 
even  warn  him,  but  must  hold  out  on  the  rack.  How  I 
hated  the  accuser  over  there  at  that  moment! 

"Herr  Claudius  despises  the  nobility;  he  hates  it,  in- 
deed," she  continued.  "He  is,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
powerless  to  shake  those  that  exist,  but  wherever  oppor- 
tunity oilers  to  prevent  the  strengthening  of  the  aristoc- 
racy he  does  it  with  all  his  might;  and  indeed  on  that 
point  he  does  not  hesitate  to  use  deception  itself.  Your 
highness,  a  new  member  of  the  aristocracy  arose  at  my 
brother's  birth,  and  I  say  it  with  pride,  another  firm  sup- 
port to  the  foundation  of  the  widely  envied  caste:  for  we, 
my  brother  and  I,  are  aristocratic  out  and  out.  But  for 
that  very  reason  we  must  never  learn  who  it  was  that  gave 
us  life.  Herr  Claudius  will  not  tolerate  the  coat  of  arms 
beside  the  old  burgher  name." 

The  princess'  face  became  suddenly  as  pale  as  death. 
She  raised  her  hand  quickly  and  pointed  to  Lothar's  pic- 
ture. 

"And  why  did  you  specially  wish  to  tell  me  all  this 
under  the  shelter  of  these  eyes?"  she  said  in  an  altered, 
husky  voice. 

"Because  they  are  my  dear  father's  eyes,  your  highness. 
I  am  his  daughter." 

"It  is  a  lie— a  horrid  lie!  Don't  say  that  again,"  she 
exclaimed.  How  dreadfully  her  amiable  face  had  changed, 
how  hard  and  sharp  was  the  gesture  with  which  she  raised 
her  arm!  "I  will  not  suffer  a  stain  upon  his  name. 
Claudius  was  never  married — the  whole  world  knows  that. 
He  never  loved  any  one,  never.  0  Heaven,  do  not  rob  me 
of  this  one  comfort  fi' 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  ggl 

"Your  highness " 

"Be  silent.  Do  you  really  wish  to  maintain  that  he 
forgot  himself,  that  proud,  incomparable  man?  And  even 
if  it  is  true,  can  you  advance  that  as  a  right?" 

With  painful  scorn  the  trembling  lips  enunciated  these 
last  words. 

Charlotte  had  sunk  back,  speechless  from  amazement, 
but  the  insult  struck  her  like  a  blow  in  the  face  and  gave 
her  back  her  resolution. 

"He  never  loved,"  she  repeated.  "Does  your  highness 
know  why  he  incurred  death  of  his  own  free  will?" 

"From  sudden  dejection.  He  was  ill — ask  everybody 
that  knew  him,"  she  murmured,  covering  her  eyes  with 
her  hand. 

"Yes,  he  was  ill.  He  was  mad  with  despair  at  the 
death  of " 

"Whose  death?    Ha!  ha!  ha!" 

Charlotte  sank  once  more  upon  the  ground,  and  em- 
bracing the  princess'  knees,  while  tears  of  anxiety  streamed 
down  her  cheeks,  said: 

"Your  highness,  I  implore  of  you  to  listen  to  me  out  for 
one  moment  more  calmly.  I  have  gone  too  far  now  to 
draw  back.  I  must  speak  out  the  truth  for  my  brother's 
sake,  for  I  dare  not  let  you  rest  in  the  belief  that  we  are 
illegitimate  children.  Lothar  von  Claudius  was  married 
privately.  His  nuptials  were  celebrated  and  blessed  by 
the  Church,  and  he  lived  in  honorable  wedded  love  in  the 
Carolinenlust.  We  were  born  there." 

"And  who  was  the  happy  one  whom  he  so  fondly  loved 
that  he  ventured  on  death  for  her  sake?"  inquired  the 
princess  in  unnatural  calm. 

She  jtood  there  like  a  marble  statue,  and  the  words 
came  toneless  from  her  lips. 

•'I  cannot  find  courage  to  utter  her  name,  '  said  Char- 
lotte, as  if  exhausted.  "Your  highness  has  received  my 
communications,  too,  too  ungraciously.  I  dare  not  ven- 
ture further.  That  man  over  there,"  she  pointed  back- 
ward over  her  shoulder  toward  her  own  room,  "above  all 
things  nnist  not  know  that  I  am  acquainted  with  the 
secret.  Have  we  not  lost  our  anchor  without  that,  when 
your  highness  turns  away  from  us,  deserted  and  persecuted 
beings?  I  have  formerly  trembled  at  every  passionate 
word  or  sound,  fearing  it  would  penetrate  yonder.  I 
know  you  will  not  hear^the  name  calmly——" 


282  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Who  told  you  that,  Fraulein  Claudius?"  interrupted 
the  princess,  drawing  herself  up.  Charlotte's  last  words 
had  sufficed  to  call  up  all  her  latent  pride.  "You  are  on 
quite  a  false  track  if  you  ascribe  my  momentary  hasto  to 
aught  save  unbounded  astonishment.  What  is  it  to  me 
who  the  lady  was?  I  would  spare  your  mentioning  her 
name,  but  that  I  wish  to  prove  to  you  that  I  can  listen  to 
it  very  calmly;  and  therefore  I  command  yon  to  close 
your  confessions  with  this  name." 

"Well,  then,  your  highness,  I  obey.  The  lady  was  the 
Princess  Sidonie  von  K." 

She  had  miscalculated  her  powers,  the  proud  princess. 
She  had  fancied  she  could  have  preserved  the  contemp- 
tuous smile  upon  her  lips,  command  the  blood  in  her 
cheeks,  no  matter  ho\v  the  name  might  sound;  and  now 
it  fell  like  a  flash  of  lightning  on  her  head,  and  she  sank 
back  against  the  wall  and  groaned  aloud  as  if  a  knife  had 
gone  through  her  breast. 

"That  is  indeed  the  cruelest  deception  a  woman  was 
ever  guilty  of,"  she  breathed  forth.  "Shame!  shame! 
How  black  and  false!" 

Charlotte  offered  to  support  her. 

"Begone!  What  do  you  want?"  she  burst  out  angrily, 
throwing  off  the  young  girl's  hands.  "Some  demon  must 
have  suggested  the  fiendish  thought  to  you  to  select  me, 
me  of  all  people,  for  your  confidante.  Begone!  I  give  you 
back  your  confide uce.  I  don't  want  to  have  heard  any- 
thing, nothing  whatever,  for  I  never  can  nor  ever  will 
have  a  hand  in  helping  you  to  your  so-callod  rights." 

She  rose,  but  was  compelled  to  support  herself  by  lean- 
ing v.pon  the  table.  "Be  good  enough  to  call  my  attend- 
ants. I  am  very  unwell,"  she  commanded  in  a  feeble 
voice. 

"Forgive  me,  your  highness,"  Charlotte  entreated,  be- 
side herself. 

The  princess  pointed  to  the  door,  silent  ,ut  imperious, 
as  she  sank  into  the  nearest  arm-chair.  Charlotte  fled 
from  the  room  and  immediately  after  it  was  filled  with 
people,  rushing  in  hurriedly.  The  music  also  ceased  with 
one  shrill  chord.  Herr  Claudius  entered. 

"An  old  attack  has  come  upon  me  suddenly,"  she  said, 
smiling  faintly  at  him.  "J  have  cramp  in  the  heart. 
Will  you  lend  me  your  carriage?  I  cannot  possibly  wait 
till  mine  comes." 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  283 

He  hurried  out  and  in  a  few  minutes  conducted  the 
suffering  lady  downstairs.  She  leaned  heavily  on  him, 
but  the  way  and  manner  in  which  she  took  leave  of  him 
fully  proved  that  Charlotte's  communications  had  failed 
to  affect  her  high  esteem  for  him  in  the  very  faintest 
degree. 


XXX. 

I  MADE  use  of  the  general  confusion  and  consternation 
to  effect  my  escape,  and  wrapping  myself  in  my  hood  and 
cloak  left  the  front  house.  My  knees  still  trembled  and 
the  blood  coursed  feverishly  through  my  veins — the  scene 
had  been  a  dreadful  one.  The  unparalleled  imprudence 
I  had  been  guilty  of  in  thus  mixing  myself  up  in  the 
private  relations  of  the  Claudiuses  I  now  bitterly  repented 
in  its  unavoidable  consequences.  Link  by  link  the  chain 
of  circumstances  was  made  to  pass  before  my  eyes,  and 
a  malicious  hand  seemed  to  be  always  drawing  me  into  a 
participation  and  sympathy  with  the  various  phases  of  its 
development.  I  had  been  compelled  to  hear  him  for 
whom  I  would  willingly  have  shed  my  heart's  blood 
charged  with  a  flagrant  fraud.  Every  word  had  been  to 
me  like  the  stab  of  a  dagger  and  filled  me  with  hot  resent- 
ment against  his  accuser;  and  for  all  that  I  had  been 
forced  to  remain  in  my  hiding-place  with  clinched  hands 
and  streaming  eyes.  Yes,  at  that  very  moment  I  felt 
crushed  by  an  oppressive  weight  of  shame.  Had  I  not 
once  sought  at  court,  in  presence  of  the  princess,  just  as 
Charlotte  was  doing  then,  to  slander  the  unsuspecting 
man  with  all  my  might?  Had  I  not  then  openly  declared 
with  cruel  courage  that  I  could  not  endure  him?  And 
were  I  to  serve  him  all  my  life  long  as  a  menial,  never 
could  I  atone  for  all  my  childish  delusions  against  him. 
These  thoughts  drove  me  out  of  his  house  ir.to  the  deadly 
stillness  of  the  garden.  Could  I  but  have  wandered  on 
thus  on  the  smooth  broad  road  further  and  further  till  I 
reached  the  haide,  where  Use  and  Heinz  were  just  now 
calmly  seated  beside  the  large  earthen  stove.  Could  I  but 
have  seated  myself  on  the  little  stool  near  Spitz'  shaggy 
coat  and  felt  once  more,  as  in  the  by-gone  quiet,  homely 
winter  evenings,  Use's  dear,  hard  hand  upon  my  head, 


284  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

perhaps  peace  might  have  returned  to  me.  Peace!  It 
was  only  now  I  began  to  learn  the  value  of  that  inward 
and  outward  calm;  only  now,  since  the  wild  beating  of 
my  heart  had  driven  me  restlessly  hither  and  thither — 
now  raising  me  up  to  heaven,  then  casting  me  down  again 
in  an  abyss  of  bitter  self-reproach  and  remorse. 

The  garden  was  now  bright  as  day;  the  crescent  moon 
stood  out  in  sharp  relief  like  silver  against  the  cold  blue 
sky.  I  crossed  the  bridge.  Beneath  it  lay  the  frozen 
river,  winding  between  the  leafless  bushes,  and  the 
branches  in  the  bosquet  shone  with  a  silvery  gleam.  The 
stony  Titans  on  the  pond  no  longer  stood  on  a  blue  velvet 
ground;  they  were  supported  now  by  a  gigantic  diamond 
formed  of  ice,  and  they  had  turbans  of  snow  surmounting 
their  bearded  faces,  while  the  gauze  draperies  of  the 
frozen  Diana  were  bordered  with  a  thick  hem  of  white 
fur.  Every  outline  of  the  little  rococo  castle  had  been 
delicately  painted  by  Frau  Holle's  white  pencil,  and  she 
had  laid  a  large,  spotless,  white  pillow  on  the  balcony  in 
front  of  the  glass  doors.  With  what  childish  innocence  I 
had  made  my  first  acquaintance  with  the  secret  of  the 
sealed  chambers.  I  only  saw  in  it  a  fairy-tale!  And  now 
it  represented  a  handful  of  papers  which  were  concealed 
there  and  from  which  two  people  of  unlimited  ambition 
expected  that  the  golden  magic  door  would  in  very  deed 
be  thrown  open  which  was  to  pour  the  treasures  of  the 
world  all  smoothly  into  their  lap. 

I  looked  up  at  the  library  windows.  The  lamp  was  still 
burning  on  the  table,  but  a  shadow  kept  passing  to  and 
fro  upon  the  ceiling.  It  was  my  father's;  he  seemed  to 
be  more  uneasy  and  excited  than  ever.  Greatly  alarmed, 
I  sprang  upstairs;  the  library  was  locked.  Between  the 
incessant  pacing  which  measured  the  room  I  could  hear  a 
suppressed  muttering  and  my  father  striking  his  clinched 
hand  upon  the  table  so  that  it  creaked. 

I  knocked  at  the  door  and  begged  him  to  open  it. 

"Leave  me  alone,"  he  called  out  roughly  from  within, 
without  coming  near  the  door.  "Forged,  did  you  say?" 
He  uttered  a  wild  laugh.  "Come  here  and  prove  it. 
But  take  away  your  sticks.  Why  do  you  strike  my  head? 
Oh,  my  brain!" 

"Papa!  papa!"  I  called  out  anxiously. 

I  repeated  my  entreaty  to  be  let  in. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  285 

"Go—don't  torment  me,"  he  answered  impatiently, 
wandering  further  away  in  the  room. 

I  was  obliged  to  obey  unless  I  would  excite  him  still 
more,  and  retired  for  the  present.  I  lighted  the  lamp 
downstairs  in  his  room  and  prepared  everything  for  the 
night.  There  lay  the  papers  he  had  received  after  dinner 
that  day,  laid  together  and  evidently  untouched.  There 
was  only  one  which  he  had  crumpled  up  into  a  ball  and 
thrown  on  the  ground.  I  unfolded  it  and  immediately 
saw  a  red  line  marked  along  a  long  article.  The  name  of 
Sassen  struck  me  at  once  among  the  letters  and  filled  me 
with  a  foreboding  of  terror.  I  ran  over  the  commence- 
ment, but  could  not  understand  it;  it  was  a  mass  of 
technicalities.  But  now  its  meaning  flashed  upon  me  and, 
quite  crushed,  I  shaded  my  eyes  with  my  hands. 

"This  medallion  swindle  has  given  a  tremendous  blow 
to  faith  in  so-called  'authorities.'  One  of  our  very  first 
names  has  been  thereby  compromised  forever.  Dr.  von 
Sassen,  with  singular  blindness,  has  recommended  the 
forger  and  his  medallions — of  which  not  one  are  real — to 
the  several  courts  and  universities.  Professor  Hart,  of 
Hanover,  who  was  the  first  to  discover  traces  of  decep- 
tion, says,  indeed,  that  the  forgery  is  a  masterly  one." 

Professor  Hart,  of  Hanover!  That  was  the  professor 
who  used  the  strange  words  by  the  graves  of  the  Huns; 
the  man  with  the  good  countenance  and  tin  case  slung 
across  his  shoulders.  I  had  taken  a  fancy  to  him  because 
he  had  so  manfully  defended  my  beloved  haide,  and  now 
this  almost  child-like,  mild  old  man  had  turned  into  an 
armed  opponent  of  my  father's  and  thrown  him  from  the 
saddle,  as  Dagobert  had  said  this  very  day.  And  that  was 
the  medal  for  whose  purchase  I  had  demanded  my  money 
in  such  an  unbecoming  manner  from  Herr  Claudius,  and 
on  his  but  too  well-founded  refusal  I  had  denounced  him 
at  court  as  one  who  would  fain  appear  to  be  the  best  in- 
formed in  everything!  I  saw  him  again  at  that  moment 
as  he  stood  looking  so  wisely  yet  modestly  at  his  own 
medal,  maintaining  his  own  opinion  so  quietly  but  de- 
cidedly. 

And  because  knowledge  oftentimes  disdains  to  display 
her  powers  before  the  world  at  large,  he  had  allowed  him- 
self to  be  shamelessly  reproved  by  Dagobert,  and  I,  like  a 
grateful  echo,  had  repeated  his  words.  How  victoriously 


286  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

justified  the  proud,  silent  one  was  now !  It  was  this  very 
medallion  business  which  had  now  led  to  my  father's  fall 
at  court,  and  that  was  what  the  pitiful  creature,  Dagobert, 
had  been  darkly  and  mockingly  hinting  at  this  evening. 
My  poor  father!  This  one  error  sufficed  to  pull  him  down 
from  his  high  position  and  place  him  at  the  mercy  of  his 
enemies  and  enviers.  That  was  surely  sufficient  to  dis- 
turb the  brain  of  one  who  toiled  day  and  night  incessantly 
in  the  interests  of  science. 

How  weak  I  felt  in  my  young,  inexperienced  nature, 
face  to  face  with  this  sad  misfortune.  I  understood  very 
well  that  at  such  a  time  even  the  best-beloved  voice  could 
not  help  to  bring  a  man  comfort — and  what  indeed  could 
I  say  to  him?  But  I  dare  not  leave  ham  alone.  I  must 
let  him  doubly  feel  the  watchful,  silent  love  which  guarded 
without  making  itself  a  burden. 

Hastily  I  left  the  room  intending  to  run  upstairs  and 
not  cease  begging  for  admittance  till  he  opened  the  library 
door  to  me.  Suddenly  I  paused  and  listened.  A  noise 
proceeded  from  my  bedroom  as  if  furniture  was  being 
moved.  I  tore  open  the  door.  A  flood  of  moonlight 
dazzled  me  as  I  entered,  for  both  windows  were  open. 
In  my  excitement  at  my  aunt's  arrival  I  had  forgotten  to 
shut  them  and  close  the  shutters.  With  a  shriek  I 
bounded  backward.  A  man  held  the  fatal  press  in  his 
grasp  and  shoved  it  aside  with  repeated  pushing,  so  that 
the  little  door  was  fully  disclosed  to  view.  He  turned 
round  and  disclosed  Dagobert's  white  forehead.  His  eyes 
sparkled  at  me.  "With  one  bound  he  was  across,  shut  the 
door  behind  me,  and  drew  me  further  into  the  room. 

"Be  rational  now  for  once  and  reflect  that  my  life's 
happiness  and  yours  also  are  hanging  on  this  moment," 
he  whispered.  "Charlotte  made  a  regular  mess  of  the 
whole  thing.  She  told  our  secret  to  the  princess  and 
blurted  out  the  whole  matter.  The  worst  thing  that 
could  have  happened  to  us  is  this  resurrection  of  a  mad 
passion  on  the  part  of  her  old  highness,  who  won't  allow 
my  father  to  belong  to  another,  even  in  his  grave.  Now 
we  have  two  opponents  to  struggle  against,  who  may  very 
possibly  be  in  secret  league — such  an  insane  old  maid 
would  trust  the  devil.  Who  can  guarantee  us  from  find- 
ing one  of  these  legal  seals  fallen  off  some  fine  morning? 
It  wasn't  my  uncle  did  that — not  he;  every  one  knows 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  287 

how  he  guards  these  same  seals  so  sternly.  It  can  fall  off 
quite  accidentally,  and  then  if  the  papers  in  the  writing- 
table  should  vanish,  who  in  the  world  is  to  know  anything 
about  it?  Dont  be  a  child.  Here  is  the  key  in  the  door. 
I  only  need  to  turn  it — it  is  no  breaking  in  if  I  just  go  up 
and  bring  away  in  safety  what  belongs  to  me  of  right." 

I  know  not  myself  how  it  was  practicable  to  me  at  such 
a  moment  to  glide  behind  him  with  such  lightning  speed, 
turn  the  key  in  the  door,  and  put  it  in  my  pocket. 

"Serpent!"  he  hissed  between  his  teeth.  "You  wish 
to  sell  yourself  dear.  You  think  with  this  key  in  your 
pocket  you  are  still  more  attractive  for  me." 

At  that  time  I  had  not  the  faintest  idea  what  these 
odious  words  meant  or  how  could  I  have  vouchsafed  the 
wretch  another  glance? 

"I  wish  to  keep  you  back  from  doing  wrong,"  I  said, 
putting  my  back  decidedly  against  the  door.  "Be  open 
and  true  with  Herr  Claudius;  you  will  attain  your  object 
much  more  easily  thus  than  if  you  were  to  break  the  lock 
upstairs.  I  will  go  with  you,  and  this  very  hour  we  will 
tell  him  everything." 

I  stopped,  for  his  eyes  were  scanning  me  in  an  offensive 
manner  and  a  mocking  laugh  played  round  his  mouth. 

"You  are  beautiful,  Barf  iisschen !  *  The  little  lizard 
with  the  princess'  crown  has  turned  into  a  siren  during 
the  last  few  months,  but  where  is  the  wisdom  of  the  ser- 
pent gone?"  He  laughed  aloud.  "A  charming  position 
truly,  by  Zeus!  We  should  walk  up  in  proprid  persond 
into  my  uncle's  very  presence,  present  him  our  secret  on 
a  salver,  and  retreat  with  long  faces!"  He  approached 
me  nearer,  so  that  I  drew  myself  still  closer  up  against  the 
wall.  "Now,  let  me  say  one  thing  to  you.  I  still  restrain 
myself  and  do  not  attempt  to  touch  you;  you  have  to 
thank  the  extremity  of  my  weakness  and  my  secret  adora- 
tion of  you  for  that.  I  will  not  give  you  cause  for  excite- 
ment, for  I  know  you  are  a  mischievous  little  devil.  I 
believe  that  in  such  moments,  through  sheer  obstinacy, 
you  are  quite  capable  of  denying  what  I,  happy  one,  have 
long  known!" 

\Vhatdidthat  mean?  I  must  have  looked  very  much 
astonished,  for  he  laughed  again. 

*  Little  barefooted  one. 


288  2##  PSBfOSaS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Oh,  don't  look  as  if  I  were  the  wolf  and  you  Red  Rid- 
ing Hood  looking  at  the  villain  with  innocent,  interrogat- 
ing eyes!"  he  exclaimed.  "Things  have  been  made  much 
more  disagreeable,  indeed,  to-day.  Your  inconceivably 
busy  tongue,  which  in  both  our  interests  I  had  already 
endeavored  to  curb,  has  proclaimed  the  stain  of  your 
Jewish  descent;  your  papa  has  also  made  his  position  at 
court  untenable;  but  my  passion  for  you  is  superior  to  all 
that.  I  think,  too,  that  my  mother's  princely  mantle  will 
suffice  to  hide  much" — he  almost  touched  my  ear  with 
his  lips — "and  then  I  will  see  my  charming  little  Lenore, 
who " 

Now  I  understood  him,  and  how  bitterly  did  I  rue  the 
day  that  I  had  adopted  the  brother  and  sister's  cause  with 
such  blind  enthusiasm.  I  turned  away  my  face  and  lifted 
my  arms  above  my  head  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  shield 
from  him. 

"Ah,  there  is  the  demon  again!  Are  you  not  going  to 
strike  me?"  he  muttered  between  his  teeth.  "Take  care. 
I  told  you  already." 

"I  know  very  well  that  you  could  strangle  me  with  one 
squeeze  of  your  hands.  Do  it,  then,"  I  cried  fearlessly. 
"Of  my  own  free  will  I  will  not  deliver  up  the  key.  You 
are  a  robber.  I  am  no  longer  the  ignorant  child  that  saw 
in  those" — and  I  pointed  to  his  glittering  epaulettes — 
"simply  an  ornament.  I  know  they  should  be  worn  only 
by  the  honorable.  And  here  comes  a  haughty  officer 
under  the  cloud  of  night  and  mist  and  threatens  a  defense- 
less maiden." 

"Oh,  the  little  viper  is  trying  to  sting,"  he  said,  throw- 
ing his  arms  round  me;  but  my  litheness  came  to  my 
assistance.  Shrieking  aloud,  I  slipped  from  his  grasp  and 
jumped  on  the  window-sill. 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  what  is  the  matter?"  called  out 
old  Schaf  er.  He  was  on  his  way  home  and  was  just  cross- 
ing the  white  snow  field. 

"Come,  come  up  quickly,"  I  stammered,  half  between 
tears  and  joy  at  being  set  free. 

Dagobert  disappeared  with  one  spring  out  of  the  opposite 
window,  while  the  old  gardener  ran  along  the  front  of  the 
house  and  made  his  appearance  immediately  after. 

"What  was  the  matter?"  exclaimed  he,  looking  round 
the  room  in  astonishment.  "My  goodness,  my  dear  young 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  <J89 

lady,  you  look  just  like  a  canary  after  the  cat  has  been  in 
the  room.  Perhaps  there  was  a  noise  in  the  old  house? 
Don't  be  afraid,  though ;  it  is  only  the  mice,  miss.  There 
are  no  ghosts,  however  much  all  people  may  declare  it  is 
'not  all  right'  in  the  Carolinenlust." 

I  left  the  good  old  man,  who  endeaovred  to  soothe  me 
so  kindly  with  his  gentle  voice,  under  the  impression  that 
it  was  some  imaginary  phantom  which  had  thus  terrified 
me,  and  only  entreated  him  to  shut  the  shutters  as  tightly 
as  possible;  then  I  locked  all  the  doors  and  went  up  again 
to  the  library.  I  felt  myself  so  weary  of  struggling;  the 
last  remnant  of  the  obstinacy  and  self-will  with  which  I 
had  faced  the  new  world  and  of  which  I  had  had  a  full 
share  was  exhausted,  and  I  was  still  so  young,  so  very 
young!  Was  life,  then,  one  such  eternal  struggle  with 
irrevocable  consequences  brought  on  by  one's  own  errors? 
And  must  my  troubled,  youthful  soul  for  all  future  time, 
thrown  on  its  own  efforts,  go  stumbling  on  helpless  and 
without  support  through  storm  and  darkness?  I  shud- 
dered with  horror.  If  some  pitying  hand  were  not 
stretched  out  to  me  I  must  sink  in  fear  and  distress.  "My 
plaidie  to  the  angry  airt — I'd  shelter  thee!"  Ah,  yes,  to 
be  hidden,  to  be  able  to  fly  thus  with  wounded  pinion 
beneath  the  care  of  some  stronger  power  and  shelter  there ! 
How  I  had  overestimated  the  strength  of  those  childish 
hands  because  they  had  been  able  to  brave  the  haide  storm 
so  merrily!  but  how  wearily  they  sank  down  already, 
groping  for  some  support  or  stay. 

The  library  was  still  locked  when  I  went  up,  and 
knock  and  rattle  as  I  would  I  could  get  no  answer. 
At  first  I  thought  my  father  had  left  it,  it  was  so  deadly 
still  within.  But  soon  after  I  heard  in  the  distance  a  kind 
of  rumbling  followed  by  a  burst  of  laughter;  the  noise 
came  from  the  antique  cabinet,  whose  doors  were  stand- 
ing wide  open.  It  sounded  to  me  as  if  heavy,  solid 
masses  were  being  thrown  down,  and  the  laughter  was  so 
unnatural  that  it  made  my  hair  stand  on  end.  Next 
something  was  thrown  into  the  library  and  broke  into  a 
thousand  fragments  on  the  floor.  A  cry  of  absolute 
triumph  followed  this  ruin.  I  bounded  with  clinched 
hands  incessantly  against  the  door  and  repeatedly  called 
my  father  in  despairing  tones. 

Just  then  a   door  opened  on  the  broad  staircase  and 


290  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

Herr  Claudius  came  out  of  the  observatory.  The  moon- 
light shone  as  day  behind  him.  I  hurried  toward  him, 
and  amid  convulsive  efforts  imparted  to  him  my  state  of 
mental  anguish  and  distress.  A  deadly  silence  had  suc- 
ceeded the  noise  which  I  heard  in  the  library,  and  while 
that  lasted  I  related  with  downcast  eyes  and  in  a  whisper 
the  story  of  the  medallion. 

"I  know  it  already,"  interrupted  Herr  Claudius  quietly. 

"Misery  is  setting  my  father  mad,"  I  said.  "Oh,  how 
I  suffer  for  him!  He  is  branded  now  and  has  lost  his 
famous  name  since  last  night." 

"Don't  believe  that.  It  would  be  sad  indeed  if  a  single 
error  could  suffice  to  undo  the  work  of  a  whole  lifetime. 
Herr  von  Sassen  has  rendered  incalculable  benefit  to 
science,  and  that  is  just  the  reason  why  these  hornets  try 
to  sting  him  the  deeper  in  the  hour  of  his  distress.  That 
will  pass  by.  Calm  yourself,  Lenore,  and  do  not  cry." 

He  raised  his  hand  as  though  about  to  take  mine  in  it, 
but  let  it  fall  as  quickly,  and  stepping  to  the  library  door 
rattled  at  the  handle. 

Just  at  that  moment  there  was  a  noise  on  the  floor 
within  of  crashing  and  rolling. 

"You  are  no  Agasias!"  shrieked  my  father.  Alas!  I 
scarcely  recognized  this  loud  voice.  "Sassen  has  lied. 
Ask  Hart,  in  Hanover;  he  knows  it.  Away  with  you, 
you  too  are  false." 

One  could  hear  him  distinctly  kicking  the  fallen  object 
about. 

"Oh,  that  is  the  sleeping  boy,  his  idol,  about  which  he 
has  been  writing  whole  volumes  to  prove  that  it  is  one  of 
Agasias'  works,"  I  said,  trembling.  "Oh,  heavens,  he  is 
smashing  the  antiquities." 

Herr  Claudius  knocked  loudly  at  the  door. 

"Won't  you  open  the  door  to  me,  doctor?"  he  called 
aloud,  but  with  a  perfe'ct,  self-controlled  voice. 

My  father  uttered  a  loud  laugh. 

"And  it  is  written — ha!  ha!  that  it  has  all  been  lies 
from  the  very  beginning.  Beware  if  you  are  an  immortal 
spirit.  See!  how  the  red  flames  devour  you!  Ha!  there 
they  are  whirling  toward  the  ceiling,  the  whole  brood  of 
lies,  of  which  the  celebrated  man  was  so  proud !  Smoke, 
nothing  but  smoke!" 

Herr  Claudius  drew  back  in  horror.     Thick  smoke  and 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  HOOK.  291 

a  suffocating  smell  began  to  issne  from  the  keyhole  and 
the  hinges  of  the  door.  Some  woolen  material  was  burn- 
ing. 

"He  is  burning  his  manuscript,"  I  exclaimed,  "and  the 
curtains  have  taken  fire." 

I  broke  into  a  loud  lament  and  threw  myself  in  despair 
against  the  door.  Alas!  what  availed  my  poor  little  hands 
and  feet  against  those  solid  panels,  which  never  stirred? 

Herr  Claudius  rnshed  back  to  the  observatory,  and 
just  then  I  bethought  me  of  a  small,  almost  invisible  door 
in  the  library;  it  led  into  a  large  dark  lumber-room  which 
separated  the  former  from  the  observatory.  And  even  if 
the  door  was  locked,  two  good  kicks  would  suffice  to  break 
in  the  fragile  planks.  But  that  was  unnecessary.  Rapid 
steps  within  and  an  angry  cry  from  my  father  informed 
me  that  Herr  Claudius  had  effected  an  entrance  without 
any  resistance.  The  key  had  been  turned  and  the  door 
just  thrown  open.  What  a  sight!  Smoke  and  vapor 
and  roaring  flames  between,  with  showers  of  crackling 
sparks,  enveloped  my  father's  familiar  writing-table. 
"The  red  tongues"  shot  up  but  slowly  at  the  heavy 
woolen  curtains,  but  all  the  merrier  did  they  lick  up  the 
piles  of  old  pamphlets  which  filled  a  shelf  between  the 
windows.  My  father  shrieked  and  behaved  like  a  mad- 
man. He  fled  from  Herr  Claudius,  who  sought  to  lay 
hold  on  him  and  lead  him  from  the  room.  Under  the 
poor  retreating  one's  feet  the  shattered  fragments  kept 
incessantly  crunching;  the  floor  was  covered  with  remnants 
of  precious  antique  terra-cotta  vases. 

I  ran  in. 

"Back,  Lenore,  back!  Remember  your  inflammable 
dress,"  exclaimed  Herr  Claudius  anxiously,  while  he 
barred  my  father's  way,  who  was  seeking  to  throw  himself 
into  the  flames.  "Run  to  the  front  house  for  assistance." 

As  I  hastened  off  I  saw  my  father  stumble  over  the 
marble  figure  lying  on  the  floor,  and  raised  in  Herr  Clau- 
dius' arms,  who,  despite  his  frantic  resistance,  bore  him 
to  the  door;  but  I  had  scarcely  reached  the  hall  when  I 
heard  the  two  gain  the  stairs,  still  struggling. 

"Murder,  miserable  murder!"  shrieked  my  father  till 
the  walls  rang  again.  Then  ensued  a  frightful  sound, 
like  something  falling. 

To  this  day  I  cannot  tell  how  I  regained  the  lel-etage 


292  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THS  MOOR. 

with  my  powerless  limbs.  I  only  know  that  I  felt  as  if 
suddenly  caught  up  hy  a  whirlwind  and  thrown  down 
where  I  saw  a  heap  lying  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  stair- 
case. 

Herr  Claudius  had  already  regained  his  feet.  He  was 
supporting  himself  against  the  banisters  and  turned  his 
face,  on  which  the  moon  shone,  toward  me.  It  was  deadly 
pale. 

"We  unfortunately  fell,"  said  he,  still  breathless  from 
exertion  and  pointing  to  my  father.  "Re  is  unconscious 
and  I  cannot  carry  him  further.  My  poor,  poor  Lenore, 
your  feet  can  scarcely  carry  you,  and  still  you  roust  bring 
me  aid." 

Then  I  rushed  through  the  garden.  Behind  me  the 
fiery  tongues  from  the  library  windows  kept  darting  out, 
and  thick  black  clouds  of  smoke  enveloped  the  tops  of  the 
trees. 

"Fire  in  the  Carolinenlust!"  I  called  out  in  the  hall. 

In  a  moment  the  whole  front  house  turned  out.  Uni- 
versal horror  seized  everybody  when,  on  reaching  the  yard, 
they  saw  the  glowing  red  reflected  in  the  quiet  silvery  sky 
above  the  row  of  poplars.  Whoever  had  hands  seized 
tubs  and  buckets,  and  two  great  engines  were  fetched  out 
of  the  coach-house.  The  fire  had  been  observed  in  the 
neighboring  streets  also;  streams  of  people  came  in  one 
after  another;  in  a  short  time  the  whole  space  before  the 
Carolinenlust  was  covered  with  people  to  the  rescue,  who 
broke  up  the  ice  in  the  river  and  pond  and  bore  water  to 
the  blazing  story. 

When  I  returned  Herr  Claudius  was  leaning  against  th* 
banisters;  he  pressed  his  left  arm  with  his  right  against 
his  breast.  I  was  speechless  with  sorrow  and  bent  over 
my  father,  whose  head  rested  on  the  lowest  step.  Hen 
Claudius  had  made  him  a  pillow  of  his  cloak.  His  eyes 
were  shut,  and  the  sunken  cheeks  looked  so  bloodless  aijd 
pallid  I  thought  he  must  be  dead.  Groaning,  I  hid  my 
face  in  my  hands. 

"He  is  only  stunned,  and  as  far  as  I  could  possibly 
ascertain  he  has  broken  none  of  his  limbs,"  said  Herr 
Claudius. 

How  I  learned  to  value  that  calm,  composed  voice  in 
those  hours  of  anxiety  and  suffering;  that  very  voice 
whose  calmness  I  had  once  mistaken  for  iciness.  At  its 
sound  I  looked  up  at  once. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  393 

"Downstairs,  in  Herr  von  Sassen's  own  room,"  it  said 
to  the  people,  who  lifted  my  father  from  the  ground. 
"It  stands  far  apart.  The  house  is  massive  and  there  is 
water  and  helping  hands  enough — the  fire  will  not  pene- 
trate thither." 

A  stream  of  people  brushed  past  us  upstairs. 

"And  you?"  I  said  to  Herr  Claudius,  and  we  walked 
side  by  side,  and  the  two  men,  conducted  by  Fraulein 
Fliedner,  carried  my  father  to  our  apartments.  "I  see 
very  well  you  are  suffering;  you  have  hurt  yourself ;  and, 
Herr  Claudius,  how  severely  you  are  rueing  having  taken 
my  father  and  me  into  your  house!" 

"Do  you  think  so?"  An  almost  sunny  smile  for  one 
moment  banished  the  knitting  of  his  brows,  caused  by 
pain.  "I  calculate  otherwise  than  you  think,  Lenore.  I 
understand  the  arrangement  perfectly  according  to  which 
we  must  first  go  through  various  probations  ere  we  reach 
our  heaven.  With  each  we  approach  our  aim  more  and 
more  nearly,  God  be  praised!" 

He  went  on  up  to  the  burning  story  and  I  went  to  my 
father.  He  lay  on  his  bed  still  and  motionless;  only  when  a 
fire-engine  came  thundering  over  the  bridge  and  stopped 
before  the  house  with  a  loud  noise  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
looked  around  him,  evidently  quite  unconscious.  From 
that  moment  he  kept  incessantly  whispering  to  himself, 
soft  and  low.  Fraulein  Fliedner  laid  cold  cloths  on  his 
head,  which  seemed  to  have  a  tranquilizing  effect  upon 
him.  Help  and  assistance  did  not  fail  us.  Even  Frau 
Helldorf,  who  since  that  fatal  Sunday  morning  had  never 
ventured  to  enter  the  Claudius  garden,  so  far  overcame 
her  nervousness  and  fear  of  meeting  her  father  that  she 
had  come  up  to  me. 

I  sat  beside  the  invalid  and  held  his  burning  hand  in 
mine.  His  strange  muttering,  which  never  for  a  moment 
ceased,  the  sight  of  his  suffering  face,  from  which  all  trace 
of  independent  thought  seemed  forever  vanished,  and  in 
addition  the  intense  anxiety  I  felt  about  Herr  Claudius, 
who  I  knew  was  upstairs  in  the  burning  rooms — all  this 
contributed  to  put  me  in  a  state  of  silent  despair. 

A  shaded  night-lamp  was  burning  in  a  corner  of  the 
room;  deep  shadows  surrounded  the  sick-bed;  and  the 
light  through  the  window  shone  all  the  brighter.  Yonder, 
over  the  silvered  row  of  trees,  the  heavy  clouds  of  smoke 


294  THE  PRTNCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

waved  like  a  banner ;  the  sparkling  streams  of  water  rose 
hissing  from  the  fire-engine  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
human  turmoil.  To  my  consternation  they  sank  down 
and  fell  only  to  rise  with  renewed  majesty.  "Take  care!" 
perpetually  resounded  above  the  tumult  and  hum. 
Kescued  objects,  such  as  vases,  mirrors,  marble  statues, 
were  being  carried  past  and  laid  beside  the  Diana.  Huge 
piles  of  books  were  ranged  beside  the  goddess,  and  the 
furniture  and  table-slabs  looked  strange  enough  on  the 
snow-white  wintry  landscape. 

The  intensely  black  volumes  of  smoke  gardually  dis- 
persed and  rose  like  a  veil  before  my  fixed  gaze;  the  noise 
of  passing  up  and  down  stairs  grew  fainter  and  the  carry- 
ing past  of  things  to  be  saved  ceased. 

''The  fire  is  extinguished,"  said  Frau  Helldorf,  drawing 
a  long  breath,  and  I  buried  my  streaming  eyes  in  the 
pillows. 

Charlotte  entered.  The  skirt  of  her  dress  trailed  along 
the  floor,  her  heavy  plaits  hung  down  in  disorder;  she  had 
toiled  like  a  man  at  the  rescue. 

"This  has  been  a  nice  evening  for  us,  princess,"  she 
said  dejectedly  as  she  sat  down  on  a  little  foot-stool  near 
me,  thoroughly  exhausted.  She  rested  her  forehead 
against  my  knee.  "Oh,  my  poor  head!"  she  whispered 
as  the  two  ladies  left  the  room  for  a  moment.  "Child,  if 
you  knew  how  I  feel!  I  tell  you  the  desperate  idea 
occurred  to  me  up  there  if  it  would  not  be  better  that  the 
fire  should  devour  me  and  my  clothes  and  put  an  end  to 
the  torment  here" — she  pressed  her  hand  to  her  heart — 
"and  I  passed  those  sealed  doors,  thinking  one  of  them 
must  give  way  and  my  mother  stretch  out  her  arms  to  her 
unhappy  child  and  draw  her  in  out  of  the  way  of  the 
swarm  of  human  beings  around.  This  day  for  the  first 
time  I  have  felt  it  impossible  to  forgive  my  father  for 
having  left  us  so  confidingly  in  his  brother's  hands,  rest- 
ing on  his  truth  and  faith.  And  no  matter  how  fearfully 
he  might  have  suffered,  he  ought  not  to  have  died;  he 
should  have  lived  for  us.  He  acted  in  a  cowardly  man- 
ner!" 

The  crowd  of  people  outside  were  gradually  disappear- 
ing, it  grew  quieter,  and  the  hissing  of  the  streams  of 
water,  which  were  still  sent  up  from  time  to  time,  struck 
more  sharply  on  the  ear.  At  length  the  longed-for  physi- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  395 

cian  made  his  appearance.  While  he  was  examining  the 
patient  and  watching  silently  a  powerful  voice  was  heard 
outside  in  the  lofty  corridor  and  finding  its  way  into  the 
silent  room. 

_  "Did  I  not  know,  Herr  Claudius,  that  this  bringing  to 
light  of  heathen  goddesses  and  statues  which  had  heen 
wisely  consigned  to  oblivion  by  your  predecessors  would 
prove  an  offense  to  the  Almighty?"  said  the  old  book- 
keeper in  his  most  sonorous  tones. 

"It  is  the  incorrigible  old  fanatic,"  murmured  Charlotte 
in  a  tone  of  vexation. 

"Did  I  not  foretell  that  the  fire  would  fall  from  heaven?" 

"It  didn't  fall  from  heaven,  Herr  Eckhof,"  replied 
Herr  Claudius  impatiently. 

"You  misunderstand  evidently,  dear  sir,"  said  another 
voice  gently. 

"Oh,  that  is  that  abominable  deacon,  the  greatest  baiter 
of  souls  in  the  whole  residenz.  Both  have  just  come  from 
their  devotions,  as  one  may  hear!  The  fire  in  the  Carr- 
linenlnst  is  the  greatest  triumph  for  them,"  whispered 
Charlotte. 

"Brother  Eckhof  knows  very  well  that  punishments  are 
not  sent  thus  direct  from  heaven  in  these  days  as  for- 
merly," continued  the  voice;  "but  it  acts  always  just  as 
certainly — only  it  depends  upon  our  understanding  it. 
Yes,  Herr  Claudius,  it  pains  me  to  my  heart  that  you 
should  be  thus  visited;  but  I  cannot  forbear  at  the  same 
time  to  admire  the'wisdom  which  in  such  inexhaustible 
mercy  thus  speaks  to  you.  In  wisdom  and  justice  this  has 
happened,  that  the  heathen  abominations  called  works  of 
wonder  which  I  have  just  seen  lying,  disguised  and  black- 
ened by  smoke,  in  the  garden  might  be  destroyed." 

Before  he  had  finished  his  sermon  Herr  Claudius,  with- 
out a  word,  opened  the  door  of  my  sitting-room  and 
entered.  The  doctor  joined  him.  Herr  Claudius  stood 
near  the  table,  on  which  the  lamp  was  burning  and  the 
light  from  which  fell  full  on  his  face.  He  still  pressed 
his  left  arm  against  his  breast  with  the  right  in  that  strange 
manner.  I  saw  from  my  dark  corner  how  his  face  over- 
clouded at  the  doctor's  report. 

"You  are  suffering  also,  Herr  Claudius,"  I  heard  the 
doctor  say  to  him  at  last. 

'*£  have  hurt  my  arm,"  replied  Herr  Claudius,  "and 


296  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

will  put  myself  into  your  hands  yonder  at  the  Vorder- 
haus."  fc. 

"That's  right;  and  your  eyes  must  be  kept  in  the  dark 
for  some  time,  I  perceive,"  he  said  emphatically. 

"Not  a  word  about  that.  You  know  that  is  my  weak 
point  where  you  can  make  me  anxious." 

My  heart  stood  still — if  he  should  grow  blind !  I  fancied 
no  human  heart  had  ever  suffered  so  much  misery  and 
wretchedness  as  I  had  that  day. 

Charlotte  rose  quickly  and  went  away.  The  door  of  my 
sitting-room  was  opened  almost  at  the  same  time,  and 
men's  footsteps  came  in  in  haste. 

"Herr  Claudius!  Herr  Claudius!  Oh,  this  villainy!"  \ 
heard  the  old  bookkeeper  moaning. 

He  came  within  reach  of  my  eye.  All  his  unction, 
every  trace  of  his  pious,  holy  walk  before  God  and  mat, 
seemed  washed  out  of  that  discomposed,  disturbed  coun« 
tenance.  Herr  Claudius  signed  to  him  to  lower  his  voice, 
but  he  was  far  too  much  excited  to  notice  this  movement. 

"That  to  me,  to  me!"  he  said  in  a  frenzy  of  indigna- 
tion. "Herr  Claudius,  some  wretch  has  taken  advantage 
of  the  general  confusion  at  the  fire  to  break  into  my  rooms 
and  rob  me  of  the  box  containing  my  poor  savings.  Oh, 
I  can  scarcely  keep  my  feet.  I  am  worried  beyond 
measure.  You  will  see,  it  will  be  my  death." 

"That  is  a  sinful  and  unchristian  speech,"  said  the 
deacon,  gently  reproving  his  violent  outbreak.  "Re- 
member, it  is  but  the  earthly  mammon.  Besides,  it  is 
not  at  all  impossible  that  the  thief  will  be  discov- 
ered and  that  you  will  get  your  money  back  again,  and  if 
not,  you  must  remember  what  Scripture  says  upon  the 
subject.  'It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of 
a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.' "  I  saw  how  his  eye  rested  on  Herr  Claudius  as  he 
said:  "Is  not  that  a  precious  consolation  to  those  who 
are  tried  by  the  loss  of  earthly  goods?" 

"But  the  1,000  thalers  of  the  missionary  money  were 
in  the  box  too,  and  they  are  to  be  paid  in  in  the  next  few 
days,"  said  the  unfortunate  bookkeeper,  tearing  his  nicely 
arranged  hair. 

Now  it  was  the  deacon's  turn  for  alarm. 

"Oh,  that  is  indeed  very  much  to  be  lamented,  dear 
Herr  Eckhof,"  he  exclaimed;  "but  may  I  agk,  how  could 


T&E  PRINCESS  Of1  THE  MOOR. 

you  leave  this  money  intrusted  to  your  care— forgive  me 
—so  unwarrantably  carelessly  guarded?  You  know  that 
the  welfare  of  other  souls  hangs  on  every  penny.  What 
shall  we  do  now?  The  money  must  be  paid  in  in  a  few 
days.  Our  society  is  a  model  of  punctuality  and  must  not 
lose  its  good  name  on  your  account.  You  will,  I  am  sure, 
see  that.  I  am  unutterably  grieved,  but  with  the  best  will 
in  the  world  can  do  nothing  to  help  you.  You  must  pro- 
vide the  money  by  the  appointed  time." 

"But  how  is  that  possible?  At  this  moment  I  am  a 
beggar!"  He  held  his  white  hands  toward  the  lamp.  "I 
haven't  even  my  diamond  ring,  the  precious  gift  of  my 
former  master,  to  dispose  of.  It  was  in  the  box  too.  I 
always  take  off  that  piece  of  vain,  worldly  ornament  when 
I  go  to  my  devotions.  Oh,  my  Lord  and  my  God,  how 
have  I,  thy  faithful  servant,  deserved  this  fate?" 

The  deacon  approached  him  nearer  and  laid  his  hand 
soothingly  on  his  arm. 

"Well,  well,  do  not  despair,  my  dear  Herr  Eckhof.  The 
matter  is  grave  enough — one  cannot  overestimate  it;  but 
I  will  tell  you :  one  who,  like  you,  possesses  such  a  power- 
ful patron  may  take  courage.  Herr  Claudius  is  a  rich 
and  nobleman:  it  is  a  mere  trifle  to  him  to  aid  you  in  your 
distress.  He  risks  nothing  in  so  doing;  he  has  you  and 
your  salary  in  his  own  hands  and  can  easily  repay  himself 
by  deducting  it." 

"I  should  first  have  to  reflect  upon  that,  I  assure  you, 
Mr.  Deacon,"  said  Herr  Claudius  quietly.  "In  the  first 
instance,  I  never  allow  that  kind  of  thing,  and  then — 
You  maintained  just  now  that  the  Almighty  in  his  wis- 
dom and  justice  had  permitted  the  destruction  of  the 
finest  monuments  of  human  genius  created  by  himself, 
the  blossoms  of  a  glorious  culture.  Well,  then,  I  will  for 
once  place  myself  in  your  position,  will  think  of  and  in- 
terpret the  Almighty's  actions  after  your  limited  and  one- 
sided view,  and  say  that  he  has  in  his  wisdom  and  justice 
permitted  that  the  money  which  was  destined  to  compel 
come  heathen's  soul  to  embrace  Christianity  should  be 
lost.  Such  a  doubtful  convert  costs  1,000  thalers  probably, 
and  further,  it  will  teach  you,  Herr  Eckhof,  the  lesson 
that  the  Church,  for  whom  you  have  sacrificed  what  is 
holiest  of  all— your  family — is  the  most  ruthless  of  credit- 
ors iu  money  matters." 


298  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

He  looked  with  dignity  and  pride  over  his  shoulder  at 
the  little  deacon,  who  sprang  waspishly  at  him. 

"We  must  be  ruthless;  it  is  our  sacred  duty,"  he  said 
zealously.  "What  would  become  of  the  Church  if  we  did 
not  gather  and  work  and  save  while  it  is  day?  And  tlio 
harder  it  is  to  obtain  the  mite,  the  greater  the  toil  and 
the  severer  the  poverty  incurred,  the  more  pleasing  is  it 
hi  the  sight  of  the  Almighty.  You  are  one  of  us,  Herr 
Eckhof.  You  know  what  rules  we  are  compelled  to  obey 
and  will,  I  doubt  not,  sacrifice  everything  to  procure  the 
money.  I  wash  my  hands  of  it.  I  have  done  more  than 
I  was  called  on  to  do.  I  have  humbled  myself  before  the 
unbelievers." 

He  walked  stiffly  to  the  door. 

Frau  Helldorf  then  approached  her  deeply  dejected 
father. 

"My  father,"  she  said  in  a  quivering  voice,  "I  can  help 
you.  You  know  I  have  700  thalers  from  my  late  mother, 
and  the  remainder  I  can  get  from  my  brother-in-law,  who 
has  saved  a  little  capital." 

Eckhof  turned  round,  as  though  those  gentle  tones  had 
been  crushing  and  loud  as  thunder.  He  looked  into  his 
daughter's  face  like  one  petrified,  but  suddenly  pushed 
her  away. 

"Away,  away  with  you!  I  will  none  of  your  money," 
he  cried  and  stumbled  out  after  the  deacon. 

"Calm  yourself,  my  good  lady,"  said  Herr  Claudius  in 
a  soothing  tone  to  the  weeping  one.  "That  was  ill  that 
was  wanting,  that  you  should  add  your  mite  h  so  this 
insatiable  abyss.  I  was  compelled  to  be  hard.  One  can- 
not be  too  severe  with  this  presuming  caste;  but  take 
courage — all  will  yet  be  well." 

While  they  were  all  talking  to  each  other  he  came  across 
to  the  sick-room  where  I  was.  He  bent  over  my  father, 
who,  utterly  unmoved  by  all  which  was  going  on  around 
him,  kept  murmuring  monotonously  on  and  on. 

"He  is  happy  in  his  fantasies;  he  is  in  sunny  Greece," 
whispered  Herr  Claudius  to  me  after  a  pause.  He  was 
standing  close  to  me.  Suddenly  I  caught  his  right  hand 
in  both  of  mine  and  pressed  it  to  my  lips.  My  offense, 
my  former  rudeness  to  him  was  atoned  for. 

He  literally  staggered  back.  He  never  uttered  a  word, 
but  he  laid  his  hand  on  my  head,  pushed  it  back,  and 


TSE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  399 

looked  inquiringly  into  my  eyes.  Oh,  how  heavily  did 
the  lids  lie  over  those  beautiful  blue,  star-like  eyes! 

"Is  all  right  between  us  now,  Lenore?"  he  asked  at 
last  in  a  half-choked  voice. 

I  nodded  my  head  vehemently  in  assent,  without  remem- 
bering the  dark  secret  that  lay  between  us. 


XXXI. 

MY  father  lay  for  several  days  hanging  between  life  and 
death.  The  attack  of  delirium  which  was  the  cause  of 
his  setting  the  Carolinenlust  on  fire  did  not,  as  I  at  first 
apprehended,  proceed  from  insanity,  but  was  the  first  out- 
break of  a  nervous  illness  which  had  been  for  days  pro- 
gressing unobserved.  The  dangerous  state  in  which  he 
lay  could  not  be  concealed  from  me,  so  I  sat  day  and  night 
by  his  bedside,  thinking  in  my  old  self-willed  fashion  that 
death  could  not  dare  to  extinguish  the  faint  spark  of  life 
beneath  my  watchful  eyes.  If  he  really  was  scared  away 
by  the  maidenly  soul's  threatening  aspect  I  know  not,  but 
the  angel  of  death  passed  by,  and  after  a  week  of  indescrib- 
able anxiety  the  doctors  pronounced  the  invalid  out  of 
danger.  In  addition  to  Frau  Helldorf  a  strong  nurse  also 
assisted  me,  and  the  duke's  household  physician,  whom 
his  highness  himself  had  sent,  remained  for  hours  at  the 
Caroliuenlust  watching  over  "the  precious  life  of  the 
famous  man."  It  now  became  apparent  that  it  was  a  very 
erroneous  supposition  that  the  court  at  K.  would  be  so 
affected  by  the  medallion  affair  as  to  cause  my  father's 
fall  from  favor.  The  duke  had  never  been  kinder  or  more 
sympathetic  than  during  this  trying  time.  Several  times 
a  day  his  messengers  came  to  make  inquiries  after  the 
invalid's  health,  and  with  them  came  an  inroad  more  or 
less  of  servants  from  the  once  more  cringing  court  coterie. 

A  sick-room  had  been  arranged  in  the  front  house  also 
— a  dark,  heavily  curtained  one.  Herr  Claudius  had 
sprained  his  arm  severely  in  that  fatal  fall,  and  in  addi- 
tion the  stifling  smoke  and  dazzling  flames  had  brought 
on  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  of  which  the  doctor  at  the 
commencement  had  formed  a  very  bad  opinion.  I  suffered 
indescribably,  for  I  was  not  allowed  to  see  him.  But 


300  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

when  the  physician  allowed  me  to  leave  the  sick-Led  and 
sent  me  into  the  open  air  for  a  breath  of  freshness,  then  I 
rushed  to  the  front  house  and  never  rested  till  Fraulein 
Fliedner  came  out  and  gave  me  a  report  in  person.  In 
the  midst  of  his  severe  sufferings,  however,  he  never  for- 
got his  little  Lenore.  The  window-sills  and  flower-stand 
in  my  room  were  perfect  beds  of  violets,  lilies-of-the- 
valley,  and  hyacinths,  and  I  always  felt  on  entering  as 
though  buried  in  spring  odors.  The  doctor  was  of  opinion 
that  the  next  thing  would  be  that  the  haide  princess 
would  fall  a  victim  to  a  poetical  death  from  these  over- 
powering odors.  Schafer  confided  to  me,  grinning,  that 
it  looked  awfully  bare  in  the  hot-house  and  that  the  head 
gardener  cut  a  very  long  face.  Frau  Helldorf ,  the  doctors, 
the  nurse — every  one,  in  short,  who  wanted  to  get  a  breath 
of  air  out  of  the  sick-room  flew  to  the  deliciously  decked 
chamber.  One  person  only  regarded  it  with  unfavorable 
eyes,  and  that  was  my  Aunt  Christine. 

As  long  as  my  father  lay  there  unconscious  she  came  to 
visit  me  daily.  I  must  confess  I  always  trembled  when 
I  heard  the  sound  of  her  light,  uncertain  footstep;  her 
first  appearance  at  the  sick-bed  had  deeply  pained  me. 
With  the  most  graceful  turn  of  her  beautiful  head  she  had 
whispered  me,  after  the  first  glance  at  the  sunken,  suffer- 
ing face:  "Child,  prepare  yourself  for  the  worst;  he  is 
rapidly  approaching  his  end."  Since  that  time  I  had 
been  afraid  of  her.  Anger  and  vexation,  however,  over- 
came me  one  day  when  she  came  into  my  room. 

"Oh,  how  heavenly!"  she  exclaimed,  clapping  her  white 
hands.  "Darling,  you  must  have  a  remarkably  good 
allowance  to  admit  of  indulging  in  such  an  unusual 
luxury." 

"I  did  not  buy  the  flowers.  Herr  Claudius  ordered  the 
room  to  be  decked  thus,"  I  replied,  much  offended.  "I 
indulge  in  luxury  indeed!" 

She  turned  round,  and  I  saw  for  the  first  time  that  those 
splendid,  dove-like  eyes  could  look  daggers. 

"It  is  your  room,  Lenore?"  she  inquired  in  a  cutting 
tone. 

I  assented. 

"Oh,  child,  then  it  is  a  mistake  of  yours.  "Well,  well, 
that  is  very  pardonable — you  are  still  but  a  child,"  she 
said,  resuming  her  good-humor,  stroking  my  hair  with  a 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  301 

smile,  *nd  passing  her  velvety  fingers  over  my  cheeks, 
bee,  od  Schafer  is  such  a  fool  about  flowers.  No  doubt 
;t  is  he  vho  has  crammed  your  room  this  way  to  suffoca- 
tion; bu,,  you  rogue,  it  seems  to  me  you  hare  a  stone  in 
your  slee-e  for  him.  A  man  like  Herr  Claudius,  so  grave 
and  preoccupied  with  past  sorrows— I  have  learned  that 
from  you  and  Frau  Helldorf— would  never  think  of  over- 
whelming such  a  little— don't  take  it  ill,  little  mouse- 
such  a  thy  hop-o'-my-thumb  with  the  choicest  bloom  of 
his  hot-houses." 

I  remaned  silent  and  swallowed  down  my  ill-humor. 
Her  opinions  might  well  have  cast  me  down,  for  beside 
her  Juno  form  there  was  no  denying  that  I  looked  one  of 
the  most  insignificant  of  beings  that  could  be  fancied;  but 
the  flowe:s  came  notwithstanding   from  Herr,  Claudius, 
and  I  knew  it  to  a  certainty,  although  I  hid  the  sweet 
consciousness  deep  within  my  heart.     My  aunt  did  not 
enter  tha;  room  again;  she  said  even  the  momentary  stay 
in  the  hovhouse  atmosphere  had  given  her  a  violent  head- 
ache.    It  was  strange,  but  this  beautiful  woman  with  her 
soft    voice  and   fascinating   manner   did  not  succeed  in 
ingratiating  herself  at   the  Swiss  cottage.     Old  Schafer 
always  made  me  a  reproachful  face  whenever  I  mentioned 
Aunt  Christine,  and  said  his  pretty,  clean  little  room  was 
a  complete  show.     The  lady  never  touched  a  duster  and 
didn't  seem  to  know  the  use  of  the  nails  on  the  wall;   she 
left  her  clothes  lying  on  the  floor.     And  Frau  Helldorf 
was  seriously  angry  one  day  when  she  saw  me  giving  my 
aunt  money. 

"You  are  really  committing  a  sin,"  she  said  when  we 
were  alone  again,  "because  you  are  busily  supporting  lazi- 
ness and  extravagance.  The  table  upstairs  is  covered  with 
all  kinds  of  dainties.  The  woman  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
herself,  eating  oysters  and  potted  eel  and  having  bottles  of 
champagne  hidden  behind  the  sofa,  and  all  that  paid  for 
by  you!  You  cannot  possibly  continue  that.  Let  her 
earn  her  own  bread  by  giving  singing-lessons.  Her  voice 
is  gone,  but  her  school  is  first-rate." 

To  my  own  comfort  I  was  able  to  assure  her  that  that 
would  certainly  take  place.  Aunt  Christine  had  repeatedly 
said  that  she  had  decided  upon  a  plan,  but  would  require 
the  advice  and  support  of  a  man  to  enable  her  to  carry  it 
out,  both  of  which  she  had  hoped  to  get  from  my  father; 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

but  as  be  had  thrown  her  off  so  unkindly  she  world  await 
Herr  Claudius'  recovery.  From  all  she  could  hear  of 
him,  he  was  just  the  man  to  be  able  to  give  bjr  advice 
and  support  in  a  longer  stay  at  K.  I  saw  nothiig  objec- 
tionable in  the  idea,  and  was  a  little  indignant  vhen  Frau 
Helldorf  shook  her  head  and  said  she  thought  Herr 
Claudius  would  scarcely  meddle  in  the  matter  vhen  once 
he  had  seen  her  painted  face. 

The  little  woman  had  become  inexpressibly  cear  to  me 
during  my  time  of  trouble.  What  a  sacrifice  she  had  made 
in  entering  the  house  where  her  unforgiving  father 
dwelt!  Literally  flying,  she  always  arrived  breithless  and 
terrified — the  fear  of  another  such  meeting  haanted  her. 
The  poor  thing  loved  her  father  tenderly  notwithstanding, 
and  was  deeply  grieved  to  learn  that  he  had  disposed  of 
evftjthing  he  possessed  to  meet  the  missionary  debt.  In 
spite  of  every  effort  no  traces  of  the  thief  had  been  found. 
To  me  the  old  bookkeeper  seemed  greatly  altered.  Every 
time  he  met  me  now  he  greeted  me,  and  had  even  come 
over  occasionally  to  inquire  for  my  father.  Charlotte  was 
of  my  opinion;  she  maintained  angrily  that  he  kept  out  of 
her  and  Dagobert's  way;  that  "the  old  fool"  decidedly 
repented  having  betrayed  his  master's  secret,  and  in  the 
end — she  foresaw  that — at  the  decisive  moment  he  would 
endeavor  to  deny  all.  The  passionate  girl  suffered  deeply. 
The  princess  was  unwell,  and  since  that  evening  had  kept 
herself  aloof  from  all  the  court  bnstle,  and  the  house  in 
the  Mauerstrasse  seemed  to  have  dropped  from  her 
memory.  What  was  to  be  done  now?  My  repeated  sug- 
gestions to  Charlotte  to  tell  Herr  Claudius  everything 
were  met  by  her  with  irritation  and  the  remark  that  the 
perfume  of  the  flowers  in  my  room  had  got  into  my  head. 
From  that  time  I  preserved  silence. 

Five  weeks  were  at  last  past  since  the  accident  at  the 
Carolinenlust,  and  terrible  trials  now  lay  behind  me.  My 
father  had  long  left  his  bed;  he  recovered  with  amazing 
rapidity;  had  been  cautiously  made  acquainted  with  the 
past  occurrences  by  the  doctors,  and  had  received  with 
wonderful  equanimity  the  intimation  that  his  manuscript 
was  destroyed.  The  news  that  a  number  of  books  and 
manuscripts  of  great  value  had  not  been  saved,  and  also 
that  the  finest  specimens  of  terracotta  vases  had  been 
destroyed,  and  that  the  utmost  efforts  to  find  the  missing 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOK.  303 

hand  of  the  sleeping  boy  had  proved  unavailing  affected 
him  much  more  painfully.  He  shed  tears  of  sorrow  and 
was  with  difficulty  calmed  when  he  thought  that  he  had 
been  the  unwitting  means  of  robbing  Herr  Claudius  and 
the  world  of  this  priceless  treasure.  The  duke  visited 
him  very  often.  He  was  thus  led  back  unconsciously  into 
his  usual  train  of  thought  and  action  and  had  already 
formed  innumerable  plans  and  designs.  He  treated  me 
with  indescribable  tenderness — misfortune  had  bound 
father  and  daughter  more  closely  still  together.  He  could 
not  bear  me  to  be  out  of  his  sight.  Nevertheless  he  assured 
me  frequently  and  gravely  that  he  would  send  me  for  a 
month  to  thehaide  in  the  beginning  of  spring;  I  had  grown 
too  pale  and  needed  refreshing. 

It  was  a  dull  afternoon  in  March.  For  the  first  time 
for  five  weeks  I  intended  to  visit  the  Swiss  cottage.  My 
aunt  had  written  me  a  few  lines  reproaching  me  for  my 
persistent  neglect  of  her  now  that  my  father  was  recover- 1 
ing.  Charlotte  met  me  in  the  hall.  I  was  frightened  at 
the  sight — such  a  wild  outbreak  of  joy  and  triumph  I  had 
never  yet  seen  in  mortal  face.  She  took  a  paper  from  her 
pocket  and  held  it  before  my  eyes. 

"There,  child,"  she  said  breathlessly;  "at  last  the  sun 
is  rising  upon  me — at  last!  Oh" — she  spread  her  arms 
out  as  if  to  embrace  tbe  whole  world — "look  at  me,  little 
one.  Happiness  looks  thus!  To-day  for  the  first  time  I 
dare  say  my  aunt  the  princess.  Oh,  she  is  indeed  good, 
noble!  Thus  to  have  conquered  herself  could  only  be 
done  by  the  nobly  born!  She  writes  to  me  she  will  see 
and  speak  to  me— to-morrow  I  am  to  go  there.  Should 
our  claims  be  established — I  should  like  to  see  who  will  be 
so  bold  as  to  dispute  them— then  everything  will  be  done 
to  restore  us  our  rights.  She  has  already  spoken  to  the 
duke  about  it — do  you  hear?— to  the  duke,"  she  said, 
seizing  my  arm  and  shaking  me.  "Do  you  know  what 
that  means?  We  shall  be  recognized  as  the  Princess 
Sidonie's  children  and  enter  the  reigning  house  as  mem- 
bers of  the  family." 

A  shudder  ran  through  me.  The  decisive  moment  had 
arrived. 

"Will  you  really  bring  the  matter  forward  while  Herr 
Claudius  is  still  suffering?"  I  inquired  in  an  unsteady 
voice. 


304  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Ah,  bah!  he  is  quite  well  again.  The  thick  curtains 
have  been  removed  from  his  windows;  he  is  wearing  a 
green  shade  and  has  moved  into  a  little  curtained  parlor 
next  my  room  for  the  first  time  to-day.  He  has  treated 
himself  to  a  little  private  amusement  in  presenting 
Eckhof,  whose  birthday  it  is,  with  1,000  thalers  in  the 
loveliest  little  purse  as  compensation  for  the  missionary 
money  and  that  he  may  be  able  to  release  his  goods.  The 
old  man  was  overcome  to  that  degree  that  I  almost  died 
of  fear  lest  he  would  have  fallen  at  my  uncle-'s  feet  and 
confessed  his  blabbing  before  our  very  faces.  Happily 
his  emotion  prevented  his  finding  words;  besides,  I  had 
become  hard,  hard  as  a  stone.  I  have  suffered  too  much 
in  these  last  few  weeks.  From  Dagobert,  too,  I  have  had 
to  listen  from  morning  to  night  to  the  bitterest  reproaches 
at  my  'awkward  way  of  managing  the  matter.'  I  do  not 
know  of  anything  now  which  can  hold  me  back;  and  if 
my  uncle  were  summoned  to  the  bar  at  this  very  moment 
I  would  not  raise  a  finger  to  prevent  it." 

She  accompanied  me  as  far  as  the  garden  gate.  From 
thence  I  saw  her  fly  like  an  arrow  into  the  leafless  thicket. 
The  intense  joy  which  filled  her  breast  drove  her  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  where  she  could  give  vent  to  her  rejoicing 
over  the  wide  world.  I  should  have  liked  to  turn  back 
again  and  hide  myself  in  the  darkest  corner  of  the  Caro- 
liuenlust  to  conceal  my  pain  and  anxiety  about  Herr 
Claudius. 

I  slipped  past  Aunt  Christine's  room  on  entering — to 
my  astonishment  the  barking  of  a  dog  issued  from  it — and 
ran  upstairs.  In  the  Helldorf  rooms  my  beating  pulses 
always  became  tranquilized.  Cries  of  joy  met  me.  Herr 
Helldorf  stretched  out  both  hands  to  receive  me,  Gretchen 
seized  me  round  my  knees,  and  little  Hermann  sat  crowing 
on  the  floor  and  tossing  his  little  feet,  begging  to  be  taken 
up.  The  little  mother,  however,  rapidly  produced  the 
coffee  machine  and  a  piece  of  cake  specially  laid  aside  for 
me,  and  soon  after  we  were  all  seated  in  familiar  conver- 
sation round  the  table.  Now  and  then  a  bold  cadence 
struck  in;  runs  and  trills  clear  as  crystal  interrupted  our 
conversation — Aunt  Christine  sang  or  rather  trilled  below; 
it  sounded  beautiful;  but  as  soon  as  ever  she  attempted 
to  bring  out  a  tone  fully  and  sustain  it,  it  went  to  my 
heart.  That  voice  which  had  once,  no  doubt,  been  per- 
fectly enchanting  was  completely  cracked. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THK  MOOR.  305 

"That  lady  downstairs  ought  to  seek  occupation  as  soon 
as  possible.  She  leads  the  life  of  a  sluggard,"  said  Herr 
Helldorf,  frowning  slightly.  "Her  singing  is  of  an  excel- 
lent school,  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  get  her  pupils.  She 
can  earn  a  great  deal  if  she  likes.  Bat  the  hauteur  and 
the  scornful  smile  with  which  she  thanked  me  for  my 
kind  patronage  I  can  never  forget.  Since  then  she  has 
not  appeared  here  again." 

"Blanche  is  barking — there  is  some  one  coming, 
mamma,"  said  Gretchen. 

"Yes,  Blanche.  That  is  a  new  inhabitant  of  the  Swiss 
cottage  which  will  be  introduced  to  you,  Lenore,"  sa;d 
Frau  Helldorf,  smiling.  "Your  aunt  bought  a  charming 
little  dog  for  herself  the  day  before  yesterday.  Schafer 
is  beside  himself;  he  cannot  endure  the  mischievous  little 
animal." 

She  paused  suddenly  and  listened;  a  man's  footsteps 
were  heard  on  the  stairs,  crossing  the  anteroom  and  paus- 
ing a  moment  there.  Frau  Helldorf's  face  had  become 
white  vas  snow;  she  stood  there  holding  her  breath,  motion- 
less as  a  statue,  and  looking  as  though  she  could  not 
advance  one  step  to  open  the  door.  All  at  once  the  handle 
of  the  door  was  turned — it  opened  and  a  tall,  fine-looking 
man  stood  on  the  threshold. 

"Father!"  shrieked  the  young  woman — it  was  a  cry  of 
mingled  sobbing  and  joyous  exultation.  Eckhof  caught 
her  in  his  arms  and  pressed  her  to  his  bosom. 

"Anna,  I  have  been  hard.  Forgive  me,"  he  said  in  a 
trembling  voice. 

She  could  not  answer.  She  only  buried  her  face  still 
deeper  in  his  breast,  from  whence  she  had  been  so  long 
shut  out.  The  old  man  extended  his  hand  silently  to  his 
son-in-law;  Helldorf  grasped  it  firmly  for  a  moment,  the 
tears  springing  to  his  eyes,  strong  man  though  he  was. 

"I  will  give  you  my  hand  too,  grandpapa,"  said  Gret- 
chen, standing  on  her  tip-toes  and  trying  to  reach  her 
grandfather's  height. 

The  children's  sweet  voices  at  last  made  the  young 
mother  look  up.  She  flew  to  her  boy,  picked  him  up  off 
the  ground,  and  held  him  up  to  her  father. 

"Kiss  him,  papa,"  she  said,  still  wavering  between 
smiles  and  tears.  "Gretchen  you  know,  but  not  the  little 
fellow;  and  only  think,  he  has  my  beloved  mother's  large 


306  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

blue  eyes.  Oh,  my  father!"  And  she  flung  her  left  arm 
anew  around  his  neck. 

By  that  time  I  had  reached  the  door  and  slipped  out 
noiselessly.  Notwithstanding  my  familiarity  with  the 
Helldorf  family,  I  felt  that  at  this  moment,  when  the 
breach  which  had  so  long  divided  the  father  and  daughter 
was  closing,  I  had  no  business  in  the  little  circle.  The 
penitent  ought  not  to  feel  a  stranger's  gaze  upon  him  in 
that  consecrated  hour.  But  it  had  grown  light  within  my 
soul — as  light  as  with  the  people  yonder,  on  whom,  strange 
to  say,  just  as  I  was  escaping  a  single  pallid  ray  of  evening 
sunshine  broke  forth  from  the  dismal  March  sky,  lighting 
up  the  silent  spectators  on  the  wall,  as  though  even  they 
would  fain  revive  and  share  in  the  blessing  of  reconcilia- 
tion. 

My  aunt  was  lying  on  the  sofa  as  I  entered  her  room. 
The  little  fury,  Blanche,  received  me  with  vehement 
barking  and  buried  her  teeth  in  my  dress.  I  gave  her  a 
light  tap  on  the  head,  at  which  she  fled  to  her  mistress' 
lap  yelping. 

"Oh,  you  mustn't  strike  my  little  pet,  Lenore,"  ex- 
claimed my  Aunt  Christine,  half-entreating,  half-pouting. 
"Look,  now,  you  see,  Blanche  is  angry  with  you,  and  you 
will  have  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  win  back  her  heart." 

I  thought  to  myself  that  was  a  trouble  I  would  never 
take. 

"Look,  isn't  it  a  little  darling?"  She  stroked  the  really 
beautiful  little  animal  tenderly  and  pushed  its  long  silken 
hair  out  of  its  eyes.  "And  just  think,  I  got  it  for  a  mere 
nothing — the  man  who  sold  it  to  me  was  in  want.  I  gave 
4  thalers  for  it.  That  was  literally  getting  a  present 
of  it,  was  it  not?" 

In  my  extreme  amazement  I  could  find  no  words.  I 
had  shared  my  purse  honestly  with  Aunt  Christine  lately 
— she  had  got  8  thalers. 

"I  had  just  such  a  little  dog  once  before — a  splendid 
specimen.  It  was  a  gift  of  Count  Stettenheim's  and  cost 
more  louis-d'ors  than  this  little  one  cost  thalers.  There 
could  not  have  been  a  prettier  sight  than  that  shining 
pale  yellow  creature  on  its  blue  silk  cushion.  The  poor 
thing  was  choked  in  the  end  by  a  partridge  bone." 

She  chattered  away  thus,  smiling  all  the  time.  The 
beautiful  dimples  in  her  cheeks  were  more  than  ever 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  30? 

visible  in  these  smiles,  and  I  could  not  help  looking  with 
ever  new  admiration  at  her  delicate  regular  teeth,  which 
shone  like  pearls  between  her  rosy  lips.  The  head  of  this 
beautiful  woman  was  dressed  irreproachably,  but  her  attire 
otherwise  really  shocked  me.  A  cast-off  "violet  dressi tig- 
gown  covered  with  stains  hung  loosely  over  her  lithe 
figure,  and  from  the  opening  at  the  throat  and  the  holes 
in  the  elbows  appeared  a  night-dress  of  very  doubtful 
cleanliness.  The  state  of  the  room  completely  harmo- 
nized with  this  toilet.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  lay  a  pair 
of  dirty  white  satin  shoes,  which  had  evidently  been  de- 
graded to  the  rank  of  slippers  and  to  serve  occasionally  as 
toys  for  Blanche.  The  once  shining  tables  and  drawers 
were  covered  with  a  thick  coating  of  dust,  and  pillows 
and  articles  of  dress  were  thrown  together  in  disorder 
behind  the  curtains.  The  air,  however,  was  filled  with 
the  most  delicate  and  delicious  scent  of  violets. 

"You  find  me  in  the  greatest  possible  disorder,  do  you 
not?"  said  she,  catching  my  glance.  "I  didn't  want  to 
annoy  you  and  add  to  your  trouble  when  I  visited  you — 
you  had  enough  care  on  your  young  shoulders  without 
that.  But  now  I  may  venture  to  tell  you  that  I  feel  inex- 
pressibly wretched  shut  up  between  these  four  walls. 
Schafer  is  an  arrant  fool.  Such  a  man  has  not  the  faintest 
idea  what  a  woman  like  me,  who  has  been  honored  by  the 
whole  world  and  petted  and  spoiled  on  all  hands — he  has 
no  idea,  I  say,  of  what  I  am  accustomed  to  expect.  In- 
stead of  seeing  that  my  room  is  properly  cleaned  every 
day,  as  is  usual  in  lodgings,  he  expects  me,  if  you  please, 
to  dust  his  furniture  and  sweep  the  room!  He  may  wait 
long  enough  for  that." 

She  put  her  hand  into  a  basket,  took  out  a  handful  of 
almonds  and  Messina  grapes,  and  began  cracking  the 
almond  shells. 

"Take  some  too,"  she  said  to  me,  giving  Blanche  at 
the  same  time  one  of  the  grapes.  "It  is  little  indeed  I 
can  offer  you.  However,  a  rogue  gives  more  than  he  has. 
One  of  these  days  it  will  be  another  story,  and  then  you 
shall  see  what  charming  little  dinners  I  can  arrange. 
Apropos,  to  return  to  Schafer.  The  sleek  old  hypocrite 
can  be  very  churlish  too.  Only  think,  when  I  was  buying 
Blanche  the  day  before  yesterday  and  counting  out  the 
money  to  the  man,  he  warned  me  in  the  most  shameless 


308  THE  PRINCESS  OF  TEE  MOOR. 

manner  that  I  should  first  pay  him  for  the  arrears  of  rent 
and  the  expense  he  had  been  at  for  light  and  firing  during 
my  stay  here;  but  that  is  not  my  affair,  darling,  is  it? 
You  rented  it  for  me,  didn't  you?" 

I  grew  fiery  red  from  anxiety.  How  was  this  to  end? 
If  I  were  to  write  for  Herr  Claudius  from  early  morning 
till  late  at  night  I  could  not  possibly  obtain  a  mainte- 
nance for  my  aunt.  Use's  face  rose  before  me.  How 
often  had  I  thought  in  my  inmost  heart  that  the  faithful 
old  soul  was  hard  and  unforgiving  because  she  had  sought 
with  all  her  might  to  prevent  any  approach  between  Aunt 
Christine  and  me;  now  I  had  got  into  the  difficulty  and 
rued  it. 

"Aunt,  I  must  tell  you  candidly  that  my  means  are  very 
small,"  I  replied  in  great  embarrassment,  but  still  very 
plainly.  "I  will  be  quite  open  with  you  and  confess  at 
once  that  my  father  does  not  even  know  that  I  earn  the 
housekeeping  money  almost  entirely  by  writing  the  names 
on  the  seed  packets  for  Herr  Claudius." 

She  looked  at  meat  first  amazed  and  doubtful;  then 
broke  into  a  peal  of  laughter. 

"Oh,  such  are  your  poetical  relations  to  each  other? 
That  is  rich,  and  I  was  so  absurd  as  to  cherish  a  momen- 
tary fear — no,  little  one,"  she  exclaimed  gayly,  "that  will 
cease  when  my  position  changes  one  of  these  days,  you 
may  rely  on  that.  I  won't  allow  it  then.  Fi  done,  how 
shameful!  You  will  see  how  I  will  manage  the  man. 
Copying!  That  is  indeed  a  hard  business,  and  it  is  im- 
possible I  can  live  on  your  purse  any  longer.  But  what 
to  do?  Child,  I  am  counting  the  minutes  till  this  Herr 
Claudius  is  well  once  more  and  able  to  see  me." 

"He  left  his  sick-room  for  the  first  time  to-day." 

"And  you  only  tell  me  that  now?"  she  said,  half-rising 
from  her  recumbent  position.  "Don't  you  know  that  you 
are  delaying  the  happiness  of  my  life  every  moment  you 
lose?  Have  I  not  repeatedly  told  you  already  that  I  will 
lay  my  future  in  this  honorable  man's  hands,  and  on  his 
advice  and  decision  make  my  weal  and  woe  dependent?" 

"I  don't  think  he  will  be  able  to  advise  you  one  bit  bet- 
ter than  Herr  Helldorf,  aunt,"  I  said.  "Herr  Claudius 
lives  quite  withdrawn  from  society,  while  Helldorf  has 
introductions  into  the  very  best  families  as  a  teacher. 
He  told  you  himself  some  time  ago  you  could  earn  a  great 
deal  of  money  if — -»•" 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  309 

"May  I  beg,"  she  said  in  a  freezing  tone,  "that  yon  will 
keep  yonr  wisdom  to  yourself?  It  is  my  affair  as  to  how 
I  will  open  my  path,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  have  no 
inclination  whatever  to  form  any  kind  of  connection  with 
the  people  upstairs.  Cease,  then,  to  propose  anything  of 
the  kind  to  me.  They  are  the  kind  of  cit-like  acquaint- 
ances which  afterward  hang  about  one's  neck  like  lead 
and — in  short;  child,  they  are  eternally  removed  from  that 
sphere  which  I  have  been  accustomed  to  live  in.  And 
now  I  again  entreat  you  to  do  everything  in  your  power 
to  procure  me  an  interview  with  Herr  Claudius." 

I  rose,  and  she  glided  from  her  sofa,  slipping  her  feet 
into  the  satin  shoes,  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
observing  that  she  wore  flesh-colored  silk  stockings. 

"Oh,  you  little  mouse  of  a  thing,"  she  said,  raising  her 
slight  figure  to  its  full  height  and  stretching  her  arm  out 
over  my  head. 

We  were  standing  exactly  opposite  the  glass,  and  I  in- 
voluntarily looked  in  it.  My  bronzed,  Creole  complexion, 
though  spotless  and  adorned  with  the  freshness  of  youth, 
looked  nevertheless  to  great  disadvantage  beside  the 
peachy  cheeks  and  brilliantly  white  forehead  of  my  aunt; 
but  I  also  saw  for  the  first  time  to-day  very  distinctly  the 
repulsive  varnish  which  lay  in  a  thick  coating  on  her  face. 
I  felt  ashamed  for  her  sake  when  I  thought  of  Herr 
Claudius'  keen,  quick  glance  making  the  same  observa- 
tion, but  as  often  as  I  tried  to  beg  she  would  lay  it  on 
somewhat  less  palpably,  so  often  did  I  find  it  impossible 
to  utter  a  word,  more  especially  as  she  kept  calling  me  a 
little  brown  hazel-nut  and  wondering  at  my  smooth  gypsy 
skin,  inasmuch  as  the  Jacobsohns  had  always  been  blessed 
with  lily  complexions. 

I  withdrew  myself  from  her  coaxing  hands  and  left  the 
room  with  the  assurance  that  I  would  go  direct  to  Praulein 
Fliedner  and  advise  with  her  as  to  the  possibility  of  the 
interview. 

I  was  set  free  with  a  fervent  kiss. 


310  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


XXXII. 

dear  little  Lenore,  your  very  best  plan  would  be  to 
speak  to  Herr  Claudius  himself,"  interrupted  the  old  lady 
before  I  had  got  through  the  half  of  my  mission. 

"Can  I  speak  to  him,  then?"  I  inquired  anxiously. 

"Of  course.  Go  upstairs  into  the  front  room  where 
Lothar's  portrait  is.  A  great  many  have  been  up  there 
to-day  already — the  saloon  is  a  temporary  business  room." 

I  went  up.  At  the  door  I  paused  a  moment  to  still  my 
beating  heart,  which  I  thought  would  burst,  then  I  entered 
softly.  The  room  was  not  so  dark  as  I  had  expected. 
The  windows  were  shaded  with  some  kind  of  green  stuff 
which  shed  a  soft  and  pleasant  light.  Herr  Claudius  sat 
in  an  arm-chair  with  his  back  to  me;  he  had  a  green  shade 
over  his  eyes  and  was  leaning  back  against  the  cushions. 
He  did  not  appear  to  have  noticed  my  entry,  or  thought 
perhaps  it  was  only  Fraulein  Fliedner,  for  he  did  not  alter 
his  position  in  the  least. 

Afy  deepest,  warmest  wish  was  now  fulfilled.  I  saw  him 
once  again ! 

I  could  not  speak.  I  was  terribly  afraid  of  the  first 
sound  of  my  own  voice  in  the  quiet  room.  I  approached 
him,  almost  inaudibly,  nearer  and  nearer,  and  grasped 
his  left  hand  timidly  in  mine  as  it  hung  over  the  arm  of 
the  chair.  The  fair  head  still  remained  immovable  in  its 
former  position',  but  quick  as  thought  the  right  hand 
closed  also  on  mine,  and  I  felt  myself  all  at  once  a  pris- 
oner. 

"Oh,  I  know  to  whom  the  little  brown  hand  belongs 
that  twitches  so  timidly  between  my  fingers,  like  a  nervous 
fluttering  little  bird,"  he  said,  without  stirring.  "Didn't 
I  hear  it  coming  upstairs  and  every  step  saying  distinctly: 
'Shall  I  go  in  or  not?  Shall  pity  for  the  poor  prisoner 
win  the  day,  or  the  old  refractory  spirit  that  says  wait  till 
he  can  leave  his  cellar  and  come  to  me : 

"Oh,  Herr  Claudius,"  I  interrupted,  "I  was  not  refrac- 
tory, indeed." 

He  turned  his  face  toward  me  quickly  without  letting  go 
my  hand. 

"No,  no,  Lenore,  I  know  you  are  not,"  he  said  in  husky 
tones.  "Those  arou ud  mo  had  little  idea  why  I  was  al- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  ?\\ 

•ways  so  impatient  of  the  slightest  noise  at  the  twilight  hor.r 
find  imperiously  requested  the  profoundest  silence.  At 
that  hour  I  listened  with  supernatural  ears,  or  at  all  events 
a  longing  heart,  for  I  knew  to  a  moment  when  the  little 
maiden's  feet  left  the  Carolinenlust.  I  followed  every 
step  through  the  gardens  and  up  the  stairs  and  listened 
with  eagerness  to  the  half-whispered  'How  is  he?  Does 
he  suffer  much?'  That  sounded  anything  else  but  refrac- 
tory; and  then  I  saw  the  unruly  locks  shook  back  with 
the  well-known  gesture  of  the  head,  and  the  dear  large, 
naughty  eyes  gazing  at  Fraulein  Fliedner  while  she  made 
her  report." 

I  forgot  everything  that  divided  us  and  gave  myself  up 
unreservedly  to  the  charm  of  the  moment. 

"Ah,  she  did  not  understand  me  so  well,"  I  said 
thoughtlessly.  "I  longed  so  inexpressibly  that  she  would 
bring  me  to  you  once,  just  once.  I  should  have  felt  more 
at  ease  if  I  could  but  have  looked  into  your  eyes  and  they 
had  said  to  me,  'I  see  you.'  Please,  just  raise  the  shade 
once." 

He  sprang  up,  took  off  the  shade,  and  threw  it  on  the 
table.  His  slight  figure  stood  before  me,  tall,  elastic, 
and  upright  as  ever. 

"Well,  then,  I  see  you,"  he  replied,  smiling.  "I  see 
that  my  little  Lenore  has  not  grown  an  inch  in  these  five 
long  weeks,  and  the  curly  head  just  reaches  now,  as  ever, 
to  my  heart.  I  see,  too,  that  the  same  head  is  thrown 
back  just  as  sturdily  and  rebelliously  as  ever.  But  what 
can  you  do  against  it  if  nature  choose  to  see  a  marvelously 
tiny  fairy  child  among  her  creations?  I  see  still  further 
that  the  little  brown  face  has  grown  paler  with  terror, 
sorrow,  and  night-watches.  Poor  Lenore,  we  have  much 
to  repay — your  father  and  I." 

He  took  my  hand  as  though  he  would  draw  me  gently 
toward  him ;  the  gesture  brought  all  my  wicked  recollec- 
tions back  again  arul  filled  my  heart  with  misery  once 
more.  I  tore  myself  away. 

"No,"  I  cried,  "don't  be  good  to  me.  I  have  not  de- 
served it  of  you!  If  you  only  knew  what  an  abominable 
creature  I  am,  how  deceitful,  false,  and  cruel  I  can  be, 
you  would  turn  me  out  of  your  house " 

"Lenore!" 

]  fled  before  him  to  the  door. 


312  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

"Don't  call  me  Lenore.  I  would  far  rather  you  called 
me  refractory,  wild,  ill-bred;  that  you  would  sternly  pro- 
nounce me  unwomanly — only  not  call  me  by  my  name  so 
kindly  and  tenderly.  I  have  done  you  no  end  of  mischief 
and  harm  whenever  I  could.  I  have  attacked  your  honor 
and  made  common  cause  with  your  enemies.  You  will 
never  forgive  me,  never.  I  know  it  so  well  that  I  don't 
even  venture  to  entreat." 

I  literally  groped  for  the  door-handle.  He  stood  at  once 
beside  me. 

"Do  you  really  think,"  he  said,  "that  I  will  allow  you 
to  leave  me  in  this  state  of  violent  excitement,  with  those 
pale,  trembling  lips  that  make  me  feel  quite  anxious?" 
He  took  my  hand  gently  from  the  door.  "Strive  to  calm 
yourself  and  listen  to  me.  You  came  hither  a  perfectly 
untouched,  undisciplined  nature  and  saw  the  world 
through  your  innocent  child  eyes.  I  blame  myself  severely 
for  not  having  emptied  my  house  of  its  injurious  elements 
at  that  time,  since  I  knew  in  the  first  hour  that  a  turning- 
point  in  my  life  had  come  and  that  everything  must  un- 
dergo a  change.  It  is  true,  your  so  plainly  expressed 
repugnance  to  me  made  me  resigned.  I  was  too  proud 
ever  again  to  forget,  and  confined  myself  to  acting  as  a 
warning  voice.  I  hesitated  too  long  in  doing  what  looked 
unmerciful  and  yet  was  the  right  thing.  There  was  not 
space  for  you  and  Charlotte  in  my  house — she  must  give 
way.  Whatever  therefore  may  have  occurred,  whatever 
you  may  have  done  unfavorable  to  me  from  simple  igno- 
rance of  the  circumstances,  does  not  need  a  single  word  of 
forgiveness.  I  am  just  as  guilty  as  you  are.  There  is 
only  one  sense  in  which  you  can  really  give  me  pain,  and 
that  is  when  you  do  as  you  have  so  often  done  already — 
turn  away  cold  and  repulsive  from  me.  No,  no,  that  I 
cannot  see,"  he  broke  off,  deeply  moved  as  I  burst  into  a 
flood  of  passionate  tears.  "If  you  must  cry,  henceforth  it 
must  be  here  alone."  He  drew  me  to  him  and  laid  my 
head  upon  his  breast.  "So  now  make  your  confessions 
courageously.  I  will  fix  my  eyes  on  the  curtain  yonder 
and  listen  with  half-averted  ear." 

"I  dare  not  tell,"  I  said  in  a  low  voice.  "How  glad  I 
should  be  if  I  might  tell  you  everything!  But  the  time 
must  come  yet,  and  then —  One  thing,  however,  you  shall 
learn  now,  for  I  did  that  quite  alone.  I  slandered  you  at 
court.  I  said  you  were  a  cold-blooded  miser,  a " 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  313 

I  noticed  how  he  secretly  laughed. 

"Ah,  has  little  Lenore  such  a  bitter  tongue  as  all  that?" 
said  he. 

I  pushed  away  the  arm  that  held  me  and  looked  up 
anxiously. 

"Don't  think  that  all  I  did  was  mere  childish  prattle," 
said  I. 

"I  don't  think  so,  either,"  he  said  soothingly,  while 
the  same  delicious  smile  played  round  his  lips.  "I  will 
hear  all  the  dreadful  discoveries  come  on  me  one  by  one 
and  wait  patiently  for  it— then  I  will  be  the  judge.  Does 
that  satisfy  you?" 

I  assented. 

"But  you  must  then  submit  unconditionally  to  the  sen- 
tence I  pronounce." 

With  a  long-drawn  sigh  I  answered: 

"So  I  will  gladly." 

Then  I  dried  my  eyes  and  began  to  speak  of  my  aunt. 

"I  have  heard  of  this  strange  guest  from  Fraulein 
Fliedner,"  he  said,  "and  of  her  having  fled  for  shelter 
under  the  foolish  little  woodlark's  wing.  Is  she  the  lady 
to  whom  you  sent  the  money?" 

"Yes." 

"H'm — I  don't  like  that.  I  have  unlimited  confidence 
in  Fran  Use  and  she  spoke  very  badly  of  this  aunt.  How 
does  the  lady  come  to  have  such  a  strange  fancy  to  speak 
to  me?  What  does  she  want  with  me?" 

"Your  advice.  Oh,  please  Herr  Claudius,  be  so  kind. 
My  father  has  cast  her  off." 

"And  despite  that  she  wants  to  live  in  one  and  the  same 
place  with  him  and  to  run  the  danger  incessantly  of  meet- 
ing him  who  disowns  her.  That  doesn't  please  me.  But, 
well  or  ill,  I  must  receive  her,  because  I  will  not  allow 
the  haide  princess  to  form  any  connections  henceforth  of 
which  I  know  nothing  and  which  cannot  stand  the  test  of 
my  searching  eye.  Frau — what  is  her  name?" 

"Christine  Paccini." 

"Well,  Frau  Christine  Paccini  is  requested  to  drink  tea 
in  the  Vorderhaus  this  evening.  Kun  now  and  fetch  her! 
Now,  does  not  my  complaisance  deserve  even  a  shake  of 
tiiehand?' 

I  turned  oack  and  laid  my  hand  voluntarily  in  his. 
Then  I  flew  away. 


314  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  doubt  whether  I  had  ever  fled  even  over  the  haide, 
where  unburdened  with  either  care  or  sorrow  I  had 
skimmed  so  many  a  time,  with  the  same  speed  as  I  did 
over  the  gravel  walk  on  this  occasion.  I  knew  now  that 
I  could  never  again  lose  my  way  in  the  wide  world,  for  he 
would  guide  me  wherever  I  went.  Xo  terror  could  come 
near  me  again,  for  I  would  fly  to  his  bosom  and  shelter  me 
there.  How  shyly  had  I  drawn  back  when  he  took  me  in 
his  arms,  and  what  a  blessed  rest  had  come  over  me  there! 
Just  so  it  used  to  be  when,  as  a  child,  I  screamed  aloud 
with  terror  and  Use  opened  her  arms  to  take  me  to  her 
heart  and  soothe  me. 

When  I  reached  Aunt  Christine  again  she  was  busy 
making  chocolate.  Blanche  was  running  about  on  the 
table,  licking  up  the  chocolate  which  had  run  over  and 
helping  herself  from  the  cake-plate.  My !  how  chocolate, 
cakes,  and  Blanche  were  all  thrown  to  the  four  winds  as  I 
made  the  announcement  that  she  was  invited  by  Herr 
Claudius  to  drink  tea  at  his  house!  Now  I  saw  for  the 
first  time  how  she  had  longed  for  and  calculated  on  this 
moment.  With  a  half-triumphant,  half-absent  smile  she 
kept  opening  and  shutting  drawers  and  boxes.  I  got  one 
glance  at  the  awful  chaos  of  faded  flowers,  ribbons,  and 
tinsel. 

"Darling,  of  course  I  must  dress  myself  first,  and  the 
room  is  so  small — you  could  go  up  to  the  Helldorfs'  for 
a  little,  couldn't  you?"  she  said.  "But  one  favor  you 
must  do  me:  go  to  Schiifer— I  don't  want  to  talk  to  the  un- 
mannerly old  man  any  more;  he  has  splendid  yellow  roses. 
Let  him  cut  me  some  and  give  him  whatever  he  asks  for 
them,  even  if  it  be  2  thalers.  You  will  get  it  again, 
perhaps  to-morrow.  So  go,"  she  said,  pushing  me  toward 
the  door,  and  as  I  looked  at  her  interrogatively,  ;'I  am 
accustomed  to  have  flowers  in  my  hand  when  I  make  my 
appearance  as  a  guest,"  she  explained. 

Schiifer  gave  me  the  roses  and  I  took  them  in.  Then 
I  went  to  my  father  and  obtained  leave  to  drink  tea  at  the 
Vorderhaus. 

An  hour  later  I  was  walking  with  my  Aunt  Christine 
across  the  garden.  On  my  return  I  had  found  her  already 
wrapped  in  her  cloak  and  hood  and  closely  veiled.  It  was 
half-dark  and  a  close  rain  began  to  fall  as  we  took  the  road 
to  the  bridge. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  315 

"Where  are  the  ladies  going  to?"  inquired  a  voice  be- 
hind me.  It  was  Charlotte,  only  now  returning  from  the 
hill. 

"I  am  going  to  introduce  my  aunt  to  the  Vorderhaus," 
I  replied. 

The  young  lady  made  no  remark  and  Aunt  Christine 
also  remained  silent,  and  so  we  walked  quietly  beside  each 
other.  I  felt  suddenly  very  nervous.  The  two  ladies 
crossed  the  bridge  before  me  together.  Strange,  it  looked 
almost  "uncanny,"  so  marvelous  was  the  similitude  be- 
tween the  two  figures.  Both  had  the  same  proud,  dis- 
dainful turn  of  the  head,  the  same  development  of 
shoulders,  the  same  walk,  and  in  height  I  do  not  think 
there  was  a  hair's-breadth  between  them.  They  might 
have  been  mistaken  for  each  other,  and  yet  they  inwardly 
repelled  each  other;  at  least  Charlotte  kept  at  a  distance. 

'Tray  take  your  things  off  in  my  room,"  she  said  to 
me  coldly  in  the  corridor. 

We  entered  the  room,  which  was  already  comfortably 
warmed  and  lighted.  Fraulein  Fliedner  was  arranging 
the  tea-table  and  received  us  with  great  reserve. 

"Where  is  Herr  Claudius?"  whispered  my  aunt  to  me 
— the  first  word  which  had  fallen  from  her  lips  since  we 
had  left  the  Swiss  cottage. 

I  pointed  silently  to  the  door  of  the  saloon. 

"Oh,  a  piano!"  she  exclaimed  in  great  delight,  and 
flew  to  the  instrument,  which  was  standing  open.  "How 
painfully  long  have  I  been  obliged  to  go  without  such  a 
sight!  Oh,  allow  me,  if  but  for  a  moment,  to  touch  the 
keys!  Pray,  pray — I  shall  be  as  happy  as  a  child  if  I  may 
but  strike  a  chord  or  ttfo." 

In  another  moment  cloak  and  mantle  were  thrown  on 
the  nearest  chair,  and  to  my  unspeakable  amazement  Aunt 
Christine  appeared  in  full  dress.  A  rich  white  satin  fell 
in  long  folds  upon  the  carpet,  and  from  the  lace  which 
trimmed  her  very  low  dress  a  bust  was  disclosed  to  view 
which  in  its  dazzling  whiteness  and  exquisite  chiseling  of 
form  almost  surpassed  the  Grecian  statues  in  the  antique 
cabinet.  Her  long  curls  fell  in  waves  over  her  neck  and 
bosom,  and  the  pale  dewy  roses  lay  scattered  here  and 
there  through  the  masses  of  her  blue-black  hair. 

"That  is  rather  strange,"  said  Charlotte  dryly  and  with- 
out the  least  reserve. 


316  TEE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

My  aunt,  however,  had  seated  herself  at  the  piano,  the 
instrument  quivered  beneath  her  touch,  and  immediately 
after  she  began  singing  in  a  tuneless,  but  powerful  voice, 
and  with  demoniac  expression,  "Gia  la  luna  in  mezzo  al 
mare " 

Then  the  door  was  thrown  open  and  Herr  Claudius  stood 
on  the  threshold,  pale  as  a  ghost.  Behind  him  was  Dago- 
bert's  amazed  face. 

"Diana!"  exclaimed  Herr  Claudius  in  indescribable 
horror. 

Aunt  Christine  flew  toward  him  and  sank  on  her  knees. 

"Pardon,  Claudius,  pardon,"  she  entreated,  almost 
touching  the  ground  with  her  forehead.  "Charlotte, 
Dagobert,  you,  my  long-lost  children,  help  me  to  implore 
that  he  will  receive  me  back  again  into  his  former  love." 

Charlotte  uttered  a  cry  of  rage. 

"Acting,"  she  stammered  forth.  "Who  has  paid  you 
for  this  admirably  played  part,  madam?"  she  inquired  in 
a  cutting  tone.  Then  she  turned  on  me  fiercely  and  shook 
me  by  the  arm.  "Lenore,  you  have  betrayed  us!"  she 
shrieked  out. 

Herr  Claudius  separated  us  at  once  and  pushed  her  back. 

"Take  Fraulein  von  Sassen  away,"  he  said,  addressing 
Fraulein  Fliedner.  How  dead  his  voice  sounded!  how 
he  endeavored  to  master  his  fearful  agitation ! 

Fraulein  Flieduer  put  her  arm  round  me  and  led  me 
into  the  room  where  Lothar's  portrait  hung.  The  door 
was  shut  behind  us.  The  old  lady  trembled  like  an  aspen 
leaf,  and  a  kind  of  nervous  shivering  made  her  teeth 
chatter. 

"You  have  brought  an  evil  guest  into  the  house,  Lenore," 
she  said,  listening  anxiously  to  the  sound  of  Annt  Chris- 
tine's voice,  which  we  could  hear  quite  distinctly.  "You 
couldn't  tell,  indeed,  that  it  was  she,  the  false,  faithless 
one;  that  Diana  for  whose  sake  he  suffered  so  sorely. 
God  forbid  that  she  should  again  establish  her  power  over 
him !  She  is  still  entrancingly  beautiful." 

I  held  my  head  in  my  hands.  The  world  must  certainly 
crush  me! 

"How  cunningly  she  managed  it,  too!"  continued  the 
old  lady  in  a  bitter  tone.  "How  she  surprised  everybody 
around  with  the  first  lightning-like  declaration !  All  at 
once  she  remembered  her  'long-lost  children'  whom  she 
deserted  so  shamefully." 


THE  PMINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  317 

"Is  she  really  Charlotte's  and  Dagobert's  mother?"  I 
exclaimed. 

"Do  you  doubt  it,  child,  after  all  you  have  seen  and 
heard?" 

"I  thought  they  were  his  children"— pointing  to 
Lothar's  picture— "and  the  Princess  Sidonie's,"  I  groaned 
out. 

She  drew  back  and  stared  at  me. 

"Oh,  now  I  begin  to  understand,"  she  said.  "That  is 
the  key  to  Charlotte's  incomprehensible  manner  and  be- 
havior; she  thinks  as  you  do.  She  thinks  she  was  born  in 
the  Carolinenlust.  Isn't  that  it?  Well,  I  shall  find  out 
who  has  discovered  the  so  carefully  guarded  secret  and 
made  such  a  hare-brained  use  of  it.  Meantime  I  will  tell 
you  that  two  children  saw  the  light  in  the  Carolinenlust: 
one  died  in  a  few  hours;  the  other  when  six  months  old 
of  convulsions;  besides,  they  were  two  boys.  Dagobert 
and  Charlotte,  though,  are  both  the  children  of  a  Captain 
Mericourt,  who  was  married  to  your  aunt  and  who  fell  at 
Morocco.  Poor  child !  your  good  angel  forsook  you  when 
you  took  that  woman  under  your  protection.  She  will 
bring  misfortune  with  her — misfortune  to  us  all!" 

I  buried  my  face  in  my  hands. 

"When  Eric  became  a  visitor  at  her  house  she  was 
already  widowed  and  prima  donna  at  the  great  opera-house 
in  Paris.  Her  children  were  being  educated  at  a  Madam 
Godin's.  Eric  was  as  fond  of  them  as  if  they  had  been 
his  own  children;  and  although  so  deeply  injured  and 
wounded  by  their  mother,  he  was  so  noble  as  to  take  the 
little  ones  when  the  lady,  forgetting  every  tie  of  honor 
and  of  duty,  left  them  at  the  pension  utterly  unprovided 
for.  Madam  Godin  died  soon  after,  and  he  imposed  on 
me — to  whom  alone  the  children's  origin  was  confided — 
the  strictest  silence.  He  wished  to  spare  the  children  all 
their  lives  the  knowledge  that  they  had  a  degenerate 
mother — and  badly  they  requite  him."  She  wrung  her 
hands  together  silently  and  paced  up  and  down.  "Only 
not  that,"  she  murmured.  "That  voice  yonder  pleads 
with  veritable  demoniacal  power — I  hear  it.  How  it  flat- 
ters and  complains  and  softly  implores!  She  will  throw 
new  chains  round  him." 

"Uncle,  uncle,  oh,  I  suffer  bitterly— I,  wretched,  un- 
grateful creature  that  I  am!"  shrieked  Charlotte  in  the 
other  room. 


31$  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

I  rushed  out  of  the  door,  down  the  stairs,  through  tht 
garden.  I  was  banished  out  of  paradise  by  my  own  fault, 
my  own  fault.  In  spite  of  Use's  energetic  remonstrances 
and  warnings,  against  the  express  desire  of  my  father,  I 
had  kept  up  a  secret  intercourse  wiith  this  criminal  aunt. 
I  had  led  the  demon  of  his  youth  back  to  the  man  whom 
I  loved  with  all  the  power  of  my  soul,  and  who  would 
doubtless  again  poison  his  whole  life. 

In  the  hall  where  the  bright  lamplight  fell  upon  me  I 
paused  in  my  furious  flight.  No,  I  dare  not  appear  befor« 
my  father  in  that  plight.  My  hair  and  clothes  all  drip- 
ping wet  from  the  March  rain,  which  was  falling  fast  and 
soft;  my  every  nerve  was  quivering  and  my  cheeks  had  a 
feverish  glow.  I  went  into  my  bedroom,  changed  my 
dress,  and  drank  a  glass  of  cold  water.  I  must  be  quiet, 
very  quiet,  if  I  wished  to  obtain  what  I  regarded  as  my 
sole  means  of  salvation. 

My  father  was  sitting  in  his  room  in  his  comfortable 
arm-chair,  reading  and  writing  alternately,  and  near  him 
stood  a  steaming  cup  of  tea.  He  looked  more  cheerful 
and  at  ease  than  I  remembered  ever  to  have  seen  him, 
even  before  his  illness,  and  the  dear  old  absent  smile  had 
returned  once  more.  Frau  Silber,  the  nurse,  was  butter- 
ing bread  and  regulating  the  heat  of  the  room  by  the 
thermometer,  and  she  signed  to  me  not  to  enter  too  sud* 
denly.  She  was  the  very  embodiment  of  carefulness,  and 
I  knew  I  could  not  leave  my  father  in  better  hands. 

I  seated  myself  near  him  on  a  foot-stool,  but  so  that  my 
face  remained  completely  in  the  shade.  He  told  me  with 
great  delight  that  the  court  physician  had  been  with  him 
and  told  him  that  he  might  drive  out  to-morrow  for  the 
first  time;  that  the  duke  himself  would  call  for  him  in  his 
carriage.  Then  he  stroked  my  hair  and  said  he  was  glad 
the  tea  at  the  Claudius'  had  not  lasted  too  long  and  that  I 
was  back  with  him  again. 

"But  how  will  it  be,  papa,  if  I  go  for  a  month  to  the 
haide?"  I  said,  withdrawing  still  further  into  the  shade. 

"I  must  reconcile  myself  to  it,  Lorchen,"  he  said. 
"You  must  go  back  for  a  time  to  what  I  may  call  your 
native  air,  that  you  may  grow  strenger.  Both  doctors 
have  laid  it  upon  me  as  a  duty.  As  soon  as  it  is 
warmer " 

"It  is  warm  outside,  deliciously  mild,"  I  broke  in  sud- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  319 

denly.  "Just  think,  it  seems  to  chase  me  to  the  haide. 
I  feel  as  if  I  should  be  ill  and  could  only  ward  off  the 
enemy  in  the  fresh  haide  air.  Papa,  if  you  are  really 
going  to  allow  me  away  at  all,  why  not  this  very  evening?" 

He  looked  at  me  in  amazement. 

"That  seems  to  you  like  madness,  doesn't  it?"  I  said 
with  a  faint  attempt  at  a  smile.  "But  it  is  more  rational 
than  you  think.  The  air  outside  is  as  soft  as  possible.  I 
would  go  by  the  night  mail,  and  to-morrow  evening  I 
should  be  once  more  at  my  dear,  dear  Dierkhof.  I  should 
drink  milk  and  breathe  haide  air  for  weeks  and  then  re- 
turn quite  strong  here  when  it  is  fine,  when  the  trees  are 
in  blossom,  and  then — it  is  all  right,  is  it  not,  papa?  I 
can  leave  you,  too,  perfectly  well  in  Frau  Silber's  hands. 
She  will  stay  with  you  and  you  could  not  be  in  better  care. 
Please,  papa,  do  allow  me." 

"What  do  you  think  about  it,  Frau  Silber?"  he  inquired 
undecidedly. 

"Oh,  let  Franlein  Lorchen  go,  Herr  Doctor,"  said  the 
dear  old  thing,  coming  to  the  door  instantly.  "A  man 
should  not  go  against  nature,  and  if  the  young  lady  feels 
as  if  she  would  be  ill  and  that  the  air  of  the  haide  would 
cure  her,  in  God's  name  say  nothing  against  it.  The 
night  mail  leaves  in  another  hour.  Pack  up  your  things, 
miss,  and  I  will  take  you  to  the  station." 

I  left  the  Carolinenlust  with  hasty  steps.  It  was  pitch- 
dark,  and  my  companion  could  not  see  the  tears  which 
streamed  from  my  eyes  as  I  nodded  a  "farewell"  to  the 
conservatory,  where  I  had  spent  one  moment  of  exquisite 
happiness.  I  had  not  meant  to  look  up  at  the  Vorderhaus 
as  we  passed  through  the  yard;  but  what  was  my  will  in 
comparison  with  the  anguish  which  raged  within  at  part- 
ing? My  eyes  hung  devouringly  on  the  light  that  shone 
in  Charlotte's  room— they  had  forgotten  to  draw  the  cur- 
tains. They  were  still  all  assembled  there;  you  could  see 
it  by  the  shadows  which  chased  themselves  over  the  ceil- 
ing. He  had  forgiven  her,  the  faithless  one,  for  whose 
sake  he  had  once  ranged  the  gardens  whole  nights  long. 
He  had  been  reconciled  to  her — it  was  a  day  of  reconcilia- 
tion—while the  foolish  little  woodlark,  frightened  away 
from  his  heart,  was  flying  away  in  the  darkness  of  night! 


320  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 


XXXIII. 

THAT  was  a  meeting  again!  I  wandered  on  foot  from 
the  last  village  to  the  Dierkhof,  through  the  silent,  leaf- 
less wood,  ft  was  dark  in  the  thicket  and  dried  leaves 
caught  in  the  hem  of  my  dress;  they  had  been  fluttering 
in  the  early  morning  as  I  issued  forth  into  the  world,  and 
now  they  accompanied  me  like  fallen  spirits  long  strips 
of  the  way,  rustling  and  whispering  monotonously;  and 
as  I  entered  the  boundless  plain,  as  the  Hiinengraber  came 
in  view  in  the  evening  twilight,  as  I  saw  the  lights  burning 
in  the  distance  at  the  Dierkhof  and  heard  Spitz'  well- 
known  bark,  I  threw  myself  among  the  bleak,  wintry 
haide  bushes  and  wept  with  anguish.  I  was  returning  to 
it  miserable  and  broken-hearted. 

And  then  the  four  oaks  continued  ever  increasing.  I 
could  distinctly  see  the  dark  spot  in  the  middle,  the  old, 
well-worn  magpie's  nest.  The  young  birds,  which  had 
taken  such  a  lively  share  in  my  parting  sorrow,  were  long 
since  fledged  and  gone,  and  nothing  remained  save  the  old 
original  pair  that  stayed  as  sentinels  on  the  Dierkhof 
watch-tower  and  directed  their  sharp,  wise  glances  toward 
the  solitary  child  who  came  wandering  thither  across  the 
haide.  Deep  in  the  dark  arch  of  the  doorway  I  could  espy 
a  spark  of  fire;  the  turf  was  burning  on  the  hearth;  and 
the  familiar  roof,  from  which  the  smoke  rose  in  straight 
yellow  columns  toward  the  evening  sky,  looked  as  if  it 
sprang  directly  out  of  the  ground,  so  sunken  and  small 
did  the  Dierkhof  appear  to  me  now.  Suddenly  I  saw 
Spitz  running  like  mad  across  the  yard.  At  the  hedge 
gate  he  paused  breathless  for  a  moment,  his  ears  cocked ; 
then  he  rnshed  toward  me  and  sprang  up  as  high  as  my 
very  face,  whining  with  joy  and  trying  to  lick  it.  I  had 
difficulty  in  keeping  my  feet. 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  animal?  It's  quite  crazy," 
said  Use,  coming  out  of  the  door. 

Ah,  that  voice!  I  ran  across  the  yard  and  threw  myself 
on  her  breast.  There  I  thought  I  should  escape  from 
those  torments  which  had  chased  me  like  furies  through 
the  quiet,  solitary  haide.  She  did  not  scream  nor  did 
she  utter  a  word,  but  her  arms  embraced  me  closely  and  I 
was  petted  **ul  caressed  as  I  had  never  been  in  my  child- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  331 

hood.  I  felt  at  once  that  she  must  have  been  longing 
intensely  to  see  me,  and  when  we  entered  the  fleet  I  saw 
she  had  grown  pale. 

But  Use  never  allowed  herself  to  be  entirely  overcome 
by  her  feelings.  She  pushed  me  away  suddenly  and,  look- 
ing at  me  at  arm's-length,  said  in  the  same  dreaded  tone 
in  which  she  had  once  laid  my  childish  sins  upon  my  head: 

"Lenore,  you  have  run  away!" 

Notwithstanding  my  inward  grief  I  could  not  help 
smiling.  I  seated  myself  on  Heinz'  wooden  stool  and 
began  telling  her  of  the  fire  accident  and  of  my  father's 
illness,  at  both  of  which  she  threw  up  her  hands  in  horror. 
That  did  riot  prevent  her,  however,  from  kindling  the  fire 
afresh,  filling  the  kettle  and  putting  it  on  the  fire,  and 
feeding  me  bit  by  bit  with  a  piece  of  bread-and-butter, 
sorely  against  my  will. 

"Yes,  yes,  that  was  the  wisest  thing,  no  doubt,"  she 
said  as  I  informed  her  at  the  end  that  the  doctor  had 
ordered  me  to  the  Dierkhof .  She  then  left  the  room,  and 
soon  after  led  me  to  a  bed  shaken  up  as  high  as  the  ceil- 
ing. 

"So,  child,  now  you  must  go  to  bed  and  1  will  bring  the 
elder-tea  directly.  One  could  see  a  mile  off  that  you  have 
caught  cold  on  the  journey.  Your  face  is  flushed — and 
you  mustn't  speak  another  word ;  to-morrow  you  shall  tell 
me  more." 

At  my  earnest  entreaty  I  was  spared  the  elder-flower 
tea,  but  I  was  tucked  into  bed  without  mercy.  There  I 
saw  Charles  the  Great's  picture  looking  down  upon  me 
once  more.  I  sprang  up,  took  it  off  the  nail,  and  turned 
the  face  to  the  wall.  How  I  hated  it!  How  much  mis- 
chief, falsehood,  and  deception  lay  in  the  white  forehead 
which  had  so  completely  dazzled  me  at  the  Hiinengraber. 
It  had  served  to  illuminate  my  path  into  the  dark  and 
unknown  world  yonder — that  deceptive  light  had  ail-un- 
consciously to  myself  lured  me  onward.  It  was  this  which 
had  torn  me  away  from  my  old  home.  Now  I  saw  into 
the  feelings  which  had  then  actuated  me — they  had 
blinded  me  and  led  me  into  a  path  full  of  errors. 

I  seated  myself  once  again,  as  on  the  night  of  my  grand- 
mother's death,  at  the  foot  of  my  bed  and  gazed  at  the 
illimitable  distance.  No,  not  even  at  the  Dierkhof  could 
I  find  rest.  The  deeper  and  more  complete  the  silence 


322  THE  PBTNCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

around  me,  the  wilder  was  the  tumult  of  my  solitary  heart. 
Now  I  understood  why  my  grandmother  used  to  stand  for 
hours  together  looking  from  the  corner  of  the  orchard  into 
the  wide  waste  beyond.  The  veiled  eyes  sought  through 
that  misty  distance  the  lost,  degraded  one,  whom  the 
mother's  heart,  all  deeply  wounded  as  it  was,  could  not 
forget.  And  for  me  too,  that  broad  field  of  light,  bedecked 
with  countless  glittering  gems  of  night,  all  centered  into 
one  small  point — over  the  distant  ancient  house  of  Claudius. 

The  wind  was  sighing  outside  and  making  the  dry 
branches  of  the  mountain-ash  tap  softly  against  the  win- 
dow. I  drew  back  and  covered  my  eyes  with  my  hand. 
Just  underneath  stood  the  bench  where  I  had  first  read 
Aunt  Christine's  letter.  And  now  I  had  seen  her  in 
reality  on  her  knees,  that  fairy  vision;  fairer  than  the 
fairest  flower  forms,  of  which  my  prettiest  books  in  child- 
hood described  lilies  and  roses  becoming  transformed  into. 
And  from  the  satin  folds  two  delicate  arms  had  been 
stretched  out  to  draw  again  to  her  faithless  heart  the  man 
she  had  once  so  deeply  injured.  Involuntarily  I  beat  my 
breast  with  clinched  hands  as  I  recalled  that  fatal  moment. 
I  had  been  weak  and  cowardly.  I  ought  not  to  have  come 
away.  I  should  decidedly  have  laid  my  head  where  it  had 
been  but  a  few  short  hours  before.  He  himself  had 
assigned  me  that  place  and  I  knew  it  had  been  with  real 
tenderness.  I  had  felt  it  in  the  beating  of  his  heart  and 
the  trembling  of  his  hand  as  during  my  confessions  it  had 
kept  tenderly  stroking  my  hair.  I  ought  not  to  have 
allowed  those  rosy  fingers  to  touch  him;  then,  perhaps, 
the  wicked  spell  would  not  have  been  thrown  around  him. 

No  doubt  it  was  bright  at  the  Vorderhans  now,  as  bright 
as  on  the  evening  when  the  princess  was  there,  and  he  was 
sitting  at  the  piano.  Forgotten  were  the  days  when  for 
her  sake  he  had  never  touched  the  keys.  She  was  singing 
the  intoxicating  demoniac  Tarantella  to  him  once  more, 
and  within  a  few  weeks  a  new  mistress  would  be  moving 
through  the  old  Claudius  chambers — not,  indeed,  with  the 
dear  forehead-band,  but  with  a  long,  rustling  silk  train, 
roses  in  her  hair  and  trills  on  her  lips.  The  quiet  com- 
pany rooms  would  be  full  of  life,  guests  coming  and  going, 
champagne  corks  flying,  and  nobody  would  blame  the 
husband's  choice.  Was  she  not  still  a  woman  "of  sur- 
passing loveliness?"  Now  he  would  be  my  uncle.  I 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  303 

sprang  up  and  moved  restlessly  about,  quite  beside  myself. 
No,  mine  was  no  angel's  disposition.  I  could  not  smile 
while  the  hot  tears  were  in  my  eyes.  I  resisted  the  knife 
that  was  always  turned  so  unmercifully  against  my  breast. 
I  would  not  return  to  K.  I  would  implore  my  father  to 
choose  some  other  place  of  residence.  How  could  I  ever 
bring  myself  to  utter  the  word  "uncle?"  Never,  never. 

The  soft  tapping  at  the  window  outside  gradually  turned 
into  a  violent  pelting  and  beating — the  spring  storm  was 
raging  over  the  haide.  Once  again  I  heard  the  creaking 
and  cracking  of  the  old  loft,  the  moaning  and  howling 
round  the  corners;  and  in  the  top  of  the  oaks  the  rustling 
of  withered  leaves,  which  though  long  since  dead  and 
moldy  kept  falling  with  a  ghostly  noise  upon  the  ash 
beneath.  The  old  Dierkhof  shook  beneath  the  mighty 
gusts  of  wind,  and  in  the  roof  the  decayed  wooden  shut- 
ters groaned  and  the  window-panes  clattered  softly,  as  if 
the  storm  were  rattling  small  silver  chains  in  its  grasp. 

Use  came  in  to  see  how  I  was  getting  on. 

"I  thought  as  much.  I  thought  you  wouldn't  be  able 
to  sleep,"  she  said  on  seeing  me  sitting  dressed  upon  my 
bed.  "Child,  you  are  no  longer  accustomed  to  the  old 
haide  lullaby.  Yonder  among  the  mountains,  of  course, 
the  storm  grows  tame,  but  I  don't  like  it  that  way  half 
so  well.  Go  to  your  warm  bed  again,  though — it  won't 
do  you  any  harm." 

Of  course  it  would  do  me  no  harm — the  familiar  Dierk- 
hof would  shelter  me  from  that! 

I  had  now  been  three  days  at  the  haide,  and  the  storm 
had  raged  incessantly  day  and  night  over  the  broad  plains. 
Mieke,  Spitz,  and  the  poultry  all  fled  for  shelter  to  the 
barn,  and  from  that  hidden  nook  gazed  from  the  open 
door  upon  the  enemy  as  it  flew  by.  But  it  blew  in  warm, 
and  I  even  fancied  that  it  brought  a  delicate  perfume  of 
sweet  flowers  witb  it  now  and  then.  Heinz,  too,  remained 
at  the  Dierkhof;  Use  would  not  allow  him  to  go  home  in 
that  tempest.  But  oh,  how  changed  was  everything!  I 
no  longer  read  aloud  while  we  sat  in  the  fleet — the  fairy- 
tales had  now  no  charm  for  me  and  tales  of  my  town  life 
were  just  as  bad.  As  often  as  Use  mentioned  the  name  of 
Claudius — and  that  to  my  despair  was  very  often  indeed — 
I  felt  as  if  I  must  choke.  I  knew  that  if  I  once  uttered 
the  name  myself  all  my  efforts  at  self-control  would  at 


324  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

once  break  down  irreparably,  and  I  should  shriek  out  my 
sufferings  to  all  the  four  winds  of  heaven  and  to  the  horror 
of  the  two  faithful  creatures  by  my  side.  Heinz  now 
looked  always  shyly  at  me  from  afar,  and  Use  told  me, 
laughing,  that  he  said  I  had  turned  into  a  real  princess 
now — so  abstracted;  and  he  could  not  think  why  Use 
didn't  hang  up  the  window-curtains  and  produce  the 
elegant  sofa,  as  had  been  done  for  Friiulein  Streit. 

On  the  third  day  the  storm  abated.  It  still  blew  and 
indeed  fiercely  over  the  plain,  but  I  could  not  endure 
being  in  the  house  any  longer.  I  flew  out,  despite  the 
whistling  and  gusts  that  still  rose,  and  let  them  carry  me 
orer  to  the  hill.  There  stood  the  dear  old  pine  still  firmly 
rooted,  and  as  I  threw  both  my  arms  around  it  it  sent  down 
a  shower  of  its  needles  upon  my  hair.  The  broom  bushes 
caught  my  petticoats  too;  but  the  spot  where  the  Hiinen- 
grab  had  been  opened  the  previous  year  lay  bare  at  my 
feet,  and  little  particles  of  sand  were  every  now  and  then 
blown  about  where  the  human  ashes  had  once  been  scat- 
tered. Red  streaks  from  the  setting  sun  hung  over  the 
top  of  the  wood — the  storm  would  begin  afresh  the  follow- 
ing morning.  It  was  as  if  the  tumult  of  the  air  separated 
me  from  the  outer  world.  Yonder  ran  the  river  across 
which  the  three  gentlemen  had  then  sought  to  escape  from 
the  barren  haide;  there  had  the  tall  slight  form  of  the 
"old  gentleman"  trodden  through  the  sand  with  firm 
footstep,  while  the  handsome  Tancred's  dainty  feet  had 
kept  anxiously  to  the  velvet  grass  path. 

It  was  awfully  lonely  up  there  now.  I  held  my  hand 
over  my  eyes,  that  I  might  be  able  to  get  a  better  view  of 
M;he  strange  sight — the  utter  solitude  of  the  haide!  A 
/dark  object  was  moving  on  the  narrow  sand  path  in  the 
'  distance  which  Heinz  had  dignified  by  the  name  of  high- 
road. Goodness!  Use  had  carried  out  her  threat  and  sent 
for  the  doctor!  My  pale  face,  my  dejected  air,  gave  her 
the  deepest  anxiety.  The  dark  object  advanced  nearer 
and  nearer;  the  evening  red  shone  upon  it  vividly — it  was 
the  same  old  trap  which  had  brought  the  doctor  to  my 
grandmother's  dying  bed.  It  gave  a  swerve — the  power- 
ful horse  and  carriage  stood  out  in  sharp  lines  against  the 
sky;  I  saw  the  carriage  windows  glitter  and  the  driver 
seated  on  the  box.  Suddenly  the  carriage  stopped  and  a 
gentleman  got  out,  and  though  his  figure  had  been  care- 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  3^5 

fully  shrouded  from  head  to  foot,  for  all  that  I  should 
have  recognized  it  among  a  thousand  by  that  one  motion. 
My  pulses  stood  still.  I  clinched  my  teeth  and  anxiously 
watched  the  carriage  door.  Now  she,  the  beautiful  lady 
in  the  velvet  mantle,  with  the  ermine  thrown  round  her 
shoulders,  would  no  doubt  also  get  out.  Uncle  and  aunt 
were  coming  to  take  back  the  runaway.  But  the  door 
was  closed  and  the  carriage  turned  back  toward  the  wood. 
Herr  Claudius  crossed  the  haide  and  came  directly  toward 
the  hill;  a  large  cloak  fluttered  about  his  shoulders  and 
the  blue  spectacles  shone  in  the  evening  light.  I  let  go 
my  hold  of  the  pine,  stretched  out  my  arms,  and  was  about 
to  rush  down  the  hill;  but  I  let  them  fall  again.  That 
was  not  the  way  to  meet  an  uncle.  Staggering,  I  once 
more  embraced  the  pine  and  leaned  my  head  against  its 
rough  stem. 

The  steps  were  now  approaching  nearer  and  nearer.  I 
never  moved.  I  felt  as  though  I  were  bound  to  the  stake 
and  must  hold  out  in  silent  agony. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  he  paused. 

"Won't  you  come  one  step  to  meet  me,  Lenore?"  he 
called  out. 

"Uncle,"  came  from  my  lips. 

In  a  few  steps  he  stood  beside  me — a  smile  crossed  his 
lips. 

"Extraordinary  girl,  in  what  a  strange  position  you 
have  placed  yourself!  Do  you  really  think  a  sedate  uncle 
would  pursue  a  little  runaway  niece  in  such  an  anxious 
and  vehement  manner?"  He  took  both  my  hands  very 
gently  and  led  me  down  the  hill.  "So,  here  the  storm 
will  pass  over  us.  I  am  not  your  uncle,  but  I  have  been 
with  your  father  and  asked  him  for  another  right.  He 
granted  me  leave  joyfully  to  bring  you  home,  but  not  to 
the  Carolinenlust,  Lenore.  If  you  decide  on  going  with 
me,  then  there  is  but  one  course  for  us  both.  Lenore, 
nothing  stands  between  us  now  but  your  own  decision. 
Have  you  still  no  other  name  for  me?" 

"Eric!"  I  shouted  with  joy  and  threw  my  arms  round 
his  neck. 

"Naughty  child!"  he  said,  holding  me  fast.  "What 
have  you  not  done  to  me?  Never  shall  I  forget  the 
moment  when  Fraulein  Fliedner  came  back  from  the 
Carolinenlust  and  told  me  in  terror  you  were  gone- -gone 


326  ?HE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

with  the  evening  mail!  My  little  \voodlark  frightened 
away  in  night  and  darkness.  And  how  I  mourned  that 
you  were  not  even  conscious  of  the  pain  yon  caused  me. 
Leuore,  how  could  you  think  it  possible  that  I  could  just 
have  taken  my  devotedly  beloved  maiden  to  my  heart  to 
put  her  away  immediately  after  for  the  sake  of  that  ugly, 
painted  sin?" 

I  tore  myself  away. 

"But  just  look  at  me,"  I  said,  inviting  his  criticising 
glance  between  laughing  and  crying.  "Beside  Aunt 
Christine  I  look  just  the  miserable  'nothing'  that  Charlotte 
always  called  me.  I  saw  my  aunt  at  your  feet;  she  im- 
plored forgiveness — and  in  what  tones!  And  I  knew  too 
that  you  had  loved  this  beautiful  woman  so " 

A  burning  crimson,  such  as  I  had  never  till  now  seen, 
overspread  his  face. 

"I  know  Fraulein  Fliedner  has  been  chattering,"  he 
said.  "She  confessed  herself  that  she  was  afraid  she  was 
the  cause  of  your  having  fled,  from  having  given  expres- 
sion, strangely  enough,  to  the  fear  that  I  might  again  fall 
under  the  same  spell.  My  little  one,  I  will  not  allow  you 
a  single  glance  into  that  time  which  was  succeeded  by 
years  of  remorse.  You  shall  retain  your  chaste  child's 
eyes;  they  are  my  refreshment,  my  pride.  I  erred 
seriously  at  that  period  and  misunderstood  myself.  I 
confounded  the  flame  of  passion  with  that  starry  light 
which  first  rose  upon  life's  pathway  with  your  appearance. 
The  error  of  my  youth  was  atoned  for  in  every  outward 
circumstance.  Up  to  this  hour  I  have  had  to  suffer,  but 
now  I  have  had  enough  of  atonement — I  demand  my 
right."  He  kissed  me,  then  threw  his  cloak  round  me. 
"You  will  find  some  changes,  my  child,  on  your  return," 
he  said,  after  a  pause,  in  a  low  voice.  "The  room  on  the 
ground-floor  of  the  Swiss  cottage  is  empty  once  more. 
The  bird  of  passage  has  flown  again  to  the  South." 

"But  she  was  poor.  What  will  she  do?"  I  said, 
alarmed. 

"That  is  all  settled.     She  is  your  aunt,  Lenore." 

"And  Charlotte?" 

"She  has  received  a  terrible  lesson.  But  I  was  not  de- 
ceived in  her — there  is,  in  spite  of  all,  a  germ  of  real  good 
in  her.  At  first  she  was  dreadfully  shaken  both  in  mind 
and  body,  but  she  has  collected  herself  again,  and  now  the 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  •;•  7 

true  pride  and  real  dignity  of  her  mind  is  breaking  forth. 
She  is  ashamed  of  her  way  of  going  on  at  school.  She 
learned  little  or  nothing,  notwithstanding  her  talents  and 
the  ample  means  offered  her  for  their  cultivation,  because 
she  always  maintained  she  was  born  to  something  higher 
and  did  not  need  to  work.  Now  she  is  going  into  an  in- 
stitution to  prepare  herself  for  being  a  governess.  I  do 
not  object  to  this  decision,  because  occupation  will  com- 
pletely cure  her;  in  other  respects  the  Claudius  house  will 
continue  to  be  her  home.  Dagobert  is  to  leave  the  service 
and  go  to  America  as  a  farmer.  The  brother  and  sister's 
delusion  with  regard  to  their  origin  and  the  final  disclosure 
about  it  has  got  noised  about  town.  Who  has  talked  of  it 
no  one  knows.  Dagobert's  position  would,  however, 
become  an  unpleasant  one,  so  he  is  going  voluntarily. 
Only  a  few  hours  before  I  set  out  here  I  was  with  the 
princess." 

I  hid  my  face  in  his  breast. 

"Now  the  verdict  is  going  to  be  pronounced  on  me,"  I 
whispered. 

''Yes,  now  I  know  all,"  he  admitted,  assuming  a  severe 
tone.  "The  haide  princess  poked  her  wise  little  nose  into 
the  secret  of  the  Carolinenlust  the  very  first  day  of  her 
arrival,  and  then  assisted  bravely  in  the  intrigue  against 
the  unfortunate  man  in  the  Vorderhaus." 

"And  he  won't  forgive  me?" 

He  looked  down  at  me  and  laughed. 

"Would  he,  then,  have  kissed  the  little  red  lips  that  can 
keep  such  heroic  silence?" 

We  emerged  from  the  shelter  of  the  hill.  The  storm 
attacked  us. 

"  Oil,  wert  tliou  in  the  cauld  blast !" 

I  began  to  sing  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  elements.  It  had 
become  a  reality.  Protected  by  his  strong  arm,  by  his 
side,  and  sheltered  beneath  the  "plaidie"  he  had  thrown 
around  me,  I  walked  along,  and  the  storm  passed  by  mo 
with  its  spring  breath  and  whispered,  "Caught,  caught." 
And  I  laughed  aloud  and  clung  closer  to  him  who  guided 
me.  Winds  and  bees  and  butterflies  might  fly  henceforth 
in  freedom  o'er  the  haide — I  should  do  so  no  more. 

Use  was  sitting  in  the  fleet  peeling  potatoes;  Heinz  had 
iust  come  in  from  the  orchard  with  the  objectionable  pipe 


328  THE  PRINCma  OP  THE  MOOR. 

as  we  entered  the  barn-door.  Never  had  I  seen  my  faith- 
ful nurse  so  utterly  confounded  as  when  Herr  Claudius 
threw  back  the  cloak  from  my  head  and  I  looked  out, 
laughing.  The  knife  and  the  half-peeled  potato  fell  from 
her  hands,  fell  from  her  lap.  "Herr  Claudius!"  she 
exclaimed  in  astonishment.  At  that  name  Heinz  took 
,  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  held  it  behind  his  back. 
1  "Good-evening,  Frau  Use,"  said  Herr  Claudius.  "You 
have  been  harboring  a  little  desertei  here.  1  have  come 
to  take  her  back — she  is  mine." 

"Frau  Use"  now  began  to  understand.  She  sprang  up; 
knives,  skins,  potatoes,  everything  rolled  on  the  flags. 

"Oh,  so  that  was  the  illness!"  She  clapped  her  hands. 
"Elder-flower  tea,  then,  was  not  the  very  best  curet 
Nicely  you  imposed  upon  me,  Lenore.  And  you  intend 
to  marry  the  child,  Herr  Claudius?"  she  said,  while  tears 
ef  emotion  ran  down  her  cheeks.  "Only  look  at  the  tinj 
hands  and  face  and  the  young,  young  eyes." 

Herr  Candius  blushed  like  a  girl. 

"She  is  satisfied  with  me,  she  is,  my  youthful  Lenore!'* 
he  said  gently  and  with  some  hesitation.  "She  maintains 
that  she  loves  the  old,  dead  old  man." 

I  clung  to  him  still  closer. 

"'Oh,  that  was  not  what  I  meant,  Herr  Claudius,"  Use 
protested  energetically.  "I'd  like  to  see  the  being  who 
wouldn't  say  'Yes'  and  'Amen'  too  gladly;  but — but — the 
number  of  people  in  your  service,  how  can  they  look  on 
such  a  tiny  creature  with  respect? — a  creature  you  could 
carry  about  the  house  in  your  arms  like  a  child." 

He  laughed  softly. 

"She  will  gain  their  respect  when  they  see  how  she 
governs  the  head  of  the  house.  And  now,  Frau  Use, 
prepare  yourself.  To-morrow  we  set  out.  The  intended 
bride  must  return  home  in  your  company." 

Use  put  her  apron  to  her  eyes. 

"But  the  Dierkhof  meantime,  Herr  Claudius?  If  you 
only  knew  how  I  found  it  before  on  my  return,"  she  said 
somewhat  sharply. 

Heinz  scratched  his  ear  and  looked  shyly  at  his  stern 
sister.  But  I  flew  toward  him  and  put  my  arm  in  his. 

"Heinz,  naughty  Heinz,  why  don't  you  congratulate 
me?" 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  TBE  MOOR.  339 

"Oh,  yes,  princess;  but  I  am  sorry  too.     There  yonder 
it's  after  all  no  haide." 


I  began  this  narrative  two  years  after  my  wedding-day. 
The  cradle  stood  near  my  writing-table  and  a  tiny  being 
lay  among  the  pillows— my  beautiful,  fair  first-born.  It 
was  for  this  tiny  miracle,  which  I  gaze  at  with  ever 
new  amazement,  that  I  began  to  write  my  experiences. 
Since  then  a  splendid  brown-haired  fellow  with  a  power- 
ful infant  voice  has  taken  his  place  in  the  green-veiled 
basket,  and  now  Lenore,  the  only  daughter  of  the  house 
of  Claudius,  is  slumbering  in  the  same  spot.  I  have  been 
seven  years  married.  I  am  seated  in  the  room  that  for- 
merly belonged  to  Charlotte.  The  dark  curtains  have 
vanished — it  is  sunny  around  me;  bouquets  of  roses, 
embroidered  and  painted,  are  scattered  everywhere,  on 
carpets,  curtains,  and  walls,  and  the  window-sills  are  per- 
fect masses  of  flowers.  Lenore  is  asleep,  her  tiny  fist 
pressed  against  her  cheek.  It  is  so  still  I  can  hear  a  fly 
buzz — so  I  close  at  last! 

The  door  opens  all  at  once,  and  there  they  come,  the 
two  scions  of  the  house  of  Claudius. 

"But,  mamma,  you  are  writing  too  long,"  cries  out  the 
fair-haired  one  reproachfully.  "We  want  to  eat  sour 
milk  in  the  garden.  Aunt  Fliedner  is  in  the  bower 
already,  and  we  have  fetched  grandpapa  too." 

I  see  the  tremulous  delight  in  his  face.  He  is  shooting 
up  rapidly;  but,  oh,  how  will  it  be  about  the  authority 
when  once  he  has  shot  up  above  his  tiny  mother's  head? 
The  little  brown  fellow,  however,  raises  himself  on  his 
tip-toes,  lays  a  cord  as  thick  as  my  finger  and  a  stout 
willow  right  across  my  manuscript,  and  begs  in  his  deep, 
honest  voice: 

"Mamma,  make  me  a  whip!" 

"Go  meanwhile  to  the  garden,"  I  say,  while  I  labored 
to  put  together  the  almost  impossible  whip.  "I  must 
first  write  something  to  Aunt  Charlotte." 

"From  Paul  too?" 

On  my  assenting  they  both  ran  off  again  downstairs. 

The  very  day  of  my  return  from  the  haide  Charlotte 
left  the  Claudius  house  to  enter  a  school,  and  a  short  time 


330  THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR. 

after  young  Helldorf  went  to  England.  He  had  asked 
for  Charlotte's  hand  and  been  refused.  She  confessed  to 
me  in  writing  that  she  had  treated  him  too  badly  in  her 
arrogance,  and  now  that  she  had  fallen  from  her  imaginary 
height  she  would  still  less  yield  to  her  inclination.  We 
did  not  allow  her  to  take  any  situation  when  once  she  had 
finished  her  studies.  At  oar  request  she  returned  to  the 
Claudius  house — a  passionately  loving  aunt  to  onr  children. 
Helldorf 's  name  never  crossed  her  lips,  although  she,  as 
well  as  we  all,  had  much  intercourse  with  his  brother's 
family.  Then  carne  the  war  of  'GG.  Max  Helldorf  was 
called  out  and  severely  wounded  at  Koniggratz.  An  hour 
after  his  brother,  looking  pale  as  death,  had  brought  the 
intelligence  to  our  house,  Charlotte  came  into  my  room 
dressed  in  traveling  costume. 

"I  am  going  as  a  deaconess,  Lenore,"  she  said  de- 
cidedly. "Tell  uncle  my  intention.  I  cannot  do  other- 
wise." 

Claudius  was  away.  I  let  her  go  with  delight.  Four 
weeks  later  she  wrote  us  a  long,  happy  letter,  signed 
"Charlotte  Helldorf."  The  field-chaplain  had  united  the 
jatient  and  his  faithful  nurse.  The  youthful  pair  are 
now  living  at  Dorotheenthal,  and  since  "little  Paul" 
opened  his  great  eyes  Charlotte  cannot  imagine  why  man- 
kind, who  all  enter  life  on  the  same  footing,  should 
trouble  themselves  by  entering  into  disputes  arising  only 
from  pride  or  wrong  feeling. 

Ah,  now  I  hear  a  firm  tread  on  the  stairs.  I  write  on 
and  pretend  I  don't  hear  him  coming — the  man  who  spoils 
me  more  than  he  can  answer  for.  I  always  laugh  at  him, 
when  he  takes  me  up  in  his  arms  and  calls  out  to  my 
father,  "She  is  the  oldest  and  least  sensible  of  my  chil- 
dren." And  my  father  nods  with  his  absent  smile.  He 
is  still  very  absent,  my  good  papa!  but  he  is  tenderly 
cared  for  by  us,  and  his  latest  work  has  made  a  furore  in 
the  world  of  learning.  Perhaps  his  grandchildren  have 
had  a  hand  in  that.  They  are  allowed  to  rummage  about 
in  the  now  restored  library  as  much  as  they  please,  to 
climb  upon  his  knees  even  while  he  is  writing.  His  posi- 
tion at  court  is  pleasanter  than  ever  and  the  princess  often 
visits  at  our  house;  but  a  thick  curtain  hangs  over 
Lothar's  portrait  and  the  little  door  in  the  Carolinenlust 
is  built  up. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  THE  MOOR.  331 

The  tall,  still  slight  man  has  just  entered  and  is  bending 
over  the  cradle,  examining  his  little  daughter. 

"It  is  extraordinary  how  like  you  that  child  is,  Lenore!" 

I  spring  up  proudly,  for  he  says  it  with  an  enchanted 

gaze.     Away  with  the  pen  and  the   manuscript!     You 

have  no  colors  to  paint  the  sunshine  of  joy  on  the  forehead 

of  the  "haide  princess." 


THE  END. 


A,,  L.  Bunt's  Catalogue  of  Books  for 
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"Wonderful  as  the  adventures  of  Joan  are.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
they  are  Tery  naturally  worked  out  and  very  plausibly  presented.  Alto- 
gether this  Is  an  excellent  story  for  girls." — Saturday  Review. 

Count  Up  the  Sunny  Days :    A  Story  for  Girls  and  Boys. 

By  C.  A.  JONES.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  75  cents. 
"An  unusually   good  children's   story." — Glasgow  Herald. 

The  Dove  in  the  Eagle's  Nest.    By   CHABLOTTE  M. 

YONQE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"Among  all  the  modern  writers  we  believe  Miss  Yonge  first,  not  In 
genius,  but  in  this,  that  she  employs  her  great  abilities  for  a  high  and 
noble  purpose.  We  know  of  few  modern  writers  whose  works  may  be  so 
safely  commended  as  hers." — Cleveland  Times. 

Jan  of  the  Windmill.     A  Story  of  the  Plains.    By  MRS. 

J.  H.  EWING.       12mo,  cloth,  Illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"Never  has  Mrs.  Ewing  published  a  more  charming  volume,  and  that 
Is  saying  a  very  great  deal.  From  the  first  to  the  last  the  book  over- 
flows with  the  strange  knowledge  of  child-nature  whiSh  so  rareJy  sur- 
vives childhood;  and  moreover,  with  inexhaustible  quiet  humor,  which 
la  never  anything  but  innocent  and  well-bred,  never  priggish,  and  never 
clnmsy . ' ' — Academy. 

A  Sweet  Girl  Graduate.    By  L.  T.  MEADE.    12mo,  cloth, 

illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"One  of  this  popular  author's  best.  The  characters  are  well  imagined 
and  drawn.  The  story  moves  with  plenty  of  spirit  and  the  Interest  does 
not  flag  until  the  end  top  quickly  comes.'1 — Providence  Journal. 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price  by  the 
publisher,  A.  &.  BURT.  MMf  Pu*a«  Str»«t.  New  fork. 


2          A.  L.  BURT^S  BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE. 

BOOKS  FOR  GIRLS. 

Six    to    Sixteen:    A  Story  for  Girls.    By  JULIANA' 

HORATIA  EWING.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  good  quality  and  attractiveness  of  'Six  to 
Sixteen.'  The  book  is  one  which  would  enrich  any  girl's  book  shelf."— 
St.  James'  Gazette. 

The  Palace  Beautiful:    A  Story  for  Girls.    By  L.  T. 

MEADE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"A  bright  and  interesting  story.  The  many  admirers  of  Mrs.  L.  T. 
Meade  in  this  country  will  be  delighted  with  the  'Palace  Beautiful'  for 
more  reasons  than  one.  It  is  a  charming  book  for  girls." — New  York 
Eecorder. 

A  World  of  Girls:     The  Story  of  a  School.    By  L.  T. 

MEADE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"One  of  those  wholesome  stories  which  It  does  one  good  to  read.  It 
will  afford  pure  delight  to  numerous  readers.  This  book  should  be  ou 
every  girl's  book  shelf." — Boston  Home  Journal. 

The  Lady  of  the  Forest :    A  Story  for  Girls.    By  L.  T. 

MEADE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"This  story  is  written  in  the  author's  well-known,  fresh  and  easy  style. 
All  girls  fond  of  reading  will  be  charmed  by  this  well-written  story.  It 
la  told  with  the  author's  customary  grace  and  spirit." — Boston  Times. 

At  the  Back  of  the  North  Wind.    By  GEOBGE  MAC- 
DONALD.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"A  very  pretty  story,  with  much  of  the  freshness  and  vigor  of  Mr.  Mac- 
donald's  earlier  work.  .  .  .  It  Is  a  sweet,  earnest,  and  wholesome  fairy 
story,  and  the  quaint  native  hnmor  is  delightful.  A  most  delightful  vol- 
ume for  young  readers." — Philadelphia  Times. 

The  Water  Babies:    A  Fairy  Tale  for  a   Land  Baby. 

By  CHARLES  KINQSLKT.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"The  strength  of  his  work,  as  well  as  its  peculiar  charms,  consist  In 
his  description  of  the  experiences  of  a  youth  with  life  under  water  in  the 
luxuriant  wealth  of  which  he  revels  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  poetical  na- 
ture."— New  York  Tribune. 

Our  Bessie.    By  KOSA  N.  CAREY.    12mo,  cloth,  illus- 

strated,  price  $1.00. 

"One  of  the  most  entertaining  stories  of  the  season,  full  of  vigorous 
action,  and  strong  in  character-painting.  Elder  girls  will  be  charmed  with 
it,  and  adults  may  read  its  pages  with  profit." — The  Teachers'  Aid. 

Wild  Kitty.     A  Story  of  Middleton  School.     By  L.  T. 

MEADE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"Kitty  Is  a  true  heroine — warm-hearted,  self-sacrificing,  and,  as  all 
good  women  nowadays  are,  largely  touched  with  the  enthusiasm  of  human- 
ity. One  of  the  most  attractive  gift  books  of  the  season." — The  Academy. 

A  Young  Mutineer.    A   Story  for  Girls.    By  L.   T. 

MEADE.    12mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  price  $1.00. 

"One  of  Mrs.  Meade's  charming  books  for  girls,  narrated  In  that  simple 
and  picturesque  style  which  marks  the  authoress  as  one  of  tl>«  first  among 
writers  for  young  people." — The  Spectator. 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price  by  the 
A.   L.   BURT.   62-58  Duano   Street,   New  York. 


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